An archive of over 1,100 early 20th-century postcards from one family. One new postcard every day.
Back — Hello Pearle I am watching for the rest of that set of cards and I hope you will not keep me waiting very long. When are you coming over here in this country to see me. anser soon yours Ray. W.
Front — ] A.E.T.
Back — ] Dear Pearl: Could not find any card of the telephone office but will send you one when they get some more in. Everything perfectly lovely here. how is [crossed out] is sister? Write sooner. Alley.
Back — Before 1910
Long Creek near Carthage appears in the collection multiple times across different decades — Harvey sending a card of it from La Harpe before their wedding, Pearl’s mother sending a view later, and now this hand-colored landscape postmarked from Carthage in the linen era. Long Creek was the natural feature closest to both of their hometowns: it ran through the farm country between Carthage and La Harpe, and it was the kind of creek people knew by name because they crossed it regularly. This unsigned card was sent by an unsigned sender — the creek speaks for itself.
Back — 10/28/09 Just a line to say I will be in C. about 9 or ten this morning. Hope you have had a fine time at the party. H.R.S.
Long Creek runs through the countryside near both Carthage and La Harpe in Hancock County, Illinois — it was familiar ground to Harvey, who grew up in La Harpe, and to Pearl, who lived in Carthage. Harvey signed this card “H.R.S.” — his initials — and sent it from La Harpe in October 1909, just over a year before their wedding on October 6, 1910. The note is brief and practical: he’ll be in Carthage around nine or ten in the morning. The creek in the illustration looks peaceful in autumn light.
Back — Hello Kiddo: How are you. well this is all good by alma Hows (—)?
Front — Aug. 30. 07. Many thanks for your card. Yesterday was Old Settlers Day in Ft Madison. I went of course, wished you were with me. Annie
Front — ] Otto Pfiff.
Back — ] From Otto Pfiff.
Back — Dora C. ] D. H. C.
South Park in Quincy runs along the bluffs above the Mississippi River, and the stone arch bridge shown on this card crossed one of its ravines. The park system was developed in the 1870s and 1880s when Quincy was prosperous enough to invest in civic amenities. Dora C. sent this card in June 1908 — early in Pearl’s correspondence years, when many of these cards were still finding their way from near and far.
Front — Dove.
The Government Building on Maine Street in Quincy — serving as both post office and federal courthouse — was completed in 1888 and represented one of the most substantial federal investments in the region. Quincy’s position on the Mississippi River had made it an important commercial center since the 1840s, but by 1907 the railroads had long since reorganized traffic patterns and the city’s relative importance had begun to decline.
Back — We were good girls and went to S. S. this morning. The girl student from India is in our class. We have only two blocks to go to church. Saw Roy Coleman. Haven’t seen Wade. Allie.
Washington Park in downtown Quincy, Illinois is where the sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate was held on October 13, 1858. An estimated 12,000 people gathered to hear Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglas argue over slavery and the future of the Union — the largest crowd of any of the seven debates. Illinois voters returned Douglas to the Senate that November, but Lincoln won the Republican nomination for president two years later. The park has marked the debate site ever since.
Back — M W
Back — 918 1/2 Bdwy, Quincy Ill Hello Noodles: you will be surprised to get this card but why shouldn’t you be. Just see who it is from. I kid you ought to be down here. I have been running all after noon. Well Dearie call me up some time, Ada,
Front — ] Emma Carrol ] having lulu [?] time With [?] Love Emma C.
The Adams County Courthouse in Quincy, Illinois was completed in 1885 in a Romanesque Revival style, replacing an earlier structure. Quincy was one of the more significant cities on the upper Mississippi in the 19th century — large enough to host the sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate in October 1858, drawing an estimated crowd of twelve thousand people to Washington Park, a few blocks from the courthouse. Emma Carroll was writing from a city with a serious civic tradition, even if her note was brief.
Fred Peasley
Waldo Mason
Miss Erbroidt
Miss Osborn
Tom Roberts
Carrie Campbell
Maude Biggs
Mabel Roberto
Mason Dry Goods Store, La Harpe
This charming real photo postcard, likely dating to the early 20th century, captures a slice of small-town commerce, possibly the very store where Harvey Sights worked or visited. The image presents a bustling scene with employees, a counter, and umbrellas for sale, suggesting a dry goods or department store.