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Johnson
City, Tennessee was the subject of an amazing number of postcards depicting
the City's early development. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
postcards became a major means of communication in the United States reflecting
the emergence of good postal service, the advent of photography, and an
emerging travel industry made possible by the railroads. The first two
decades of the 20th century are often considered the "golden age"
of postcards, and this period coincided with the zenith of rail passenger
travel in America. It was common for railway passengers to send postcards
to friends or family to communicate their travel progress or just to stay
in contact. Familiar subjects for Johnson City were the National
Soldiers Home, churches, railway depots, hotels, industrial scenes
(a sign of prosperity) and views of Main Street and Fountain Square. As
a regional railway center as well as home to 3,000 veterans at the Soldiers
Home, a thriving demand for postcards of the period is evident by the
number of issues published. People tended to keep postcards as mementos
rather than throw them away and they remain popular collectibles today. The collection exhibited online here at Johnson's Depot represents a shared effort by a group of local historians and collectors of postcards and memorabilia. Check back often as more items are constantly being added to the scanned online collection. |
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