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Home > Digital Collections > Rarely Seen Richmond

Rarely Seen Richmond

Digital Collections come from a broad range of sources, including materials that are offensive or contain negative stereotypes. VCU Libraries provides access to these items to support research and inquiry.

A note about searching: In an item-level search, digital objects with unknown dates may display a modern publication date (2023/2024). This date is inaccurate, and cannot be suppressed. Please see date approximation in individual item record for accurate item date.

About this collection
Rarely Seen Richmond: Early twentieth century Richmond, Virginia as seen through vintage postcards is a digital collection of over 600 postcard images of Richmond, most dating from 1900-1930, from the James Branch Cabell Library Special Collections and Archives. The intent of the collection is to help document early twentieth century Richmond by displaying a unique collection of images of the city. Many of these images include buildings and structures that either no longer exist or have since been altered. The subject matter of these postcards also lends insight into the social and cultural attitudes of those times.

Postcards began to be widely used in the United States soon after the passage of the Private Mailing Card Act in 1898. It freed private publishers from what was considered unfair competition from government issued cards. In the next few years the demand for postcards grew as a craze for collecting them spread throughout the country. Dozens of postcard printers, both American and European, began producing postcard views. This "golden age" of postcard publishing and collecting lasted from 1898 through 1912 when thousands of cards were produced, mailed, and collected by the public. According to figures issued by the U.S. Post Office for fiscal year 1907-1908, 677,777,798 postcards were mailed in the United States in that year. Though the craze for postcards diminished by the time World War I began, postcards continued to be published and collected. One estimate has put the number of Richmond, Virginia postcard views at 2,000. Many of the postcards in this collection were colorized from original black and white photographs.

Copyright
This collection is of mixed copyright status and includes items that are in the public domain, in copyright, and of unknown copyright status. See individual items for item-specific copyright information.

Additional research information
For more information about Virginia postcard history, see Kelly Henderson, "The Art of the View: Picture Postcards of Virginia, 1900-1925," Virginia Cavalcade, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Autumn 1990), 66-73.

Credits
VCU Libraries originally digitized this collection in 2000. The postcards were scanned by Archivist Ray Bonis, and the metadata was generated by Bonis and then-head of Library Information Services Jimmy Ghaphery. Additional metadata was supplied by Metadata Librarian Mary Anne Dyer in 2008.

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  • Virginia Union University, (North Bowe St.) Richmond, Va. by Southern Bargain House, Richmond, Va.

    Virginia Union University, (North Bowe St.) Richmond, Va.

  • Virginia Union University, North Lombardy Street, Richmond, Va. by Southern Bargain House, Richmond, Va.

    Virginia Union University, North Lombardy Street, Richmond, Va.

  • Virginia Union University, North Lombardy Street, Richmond, Va. by Southern Bargain House, Richmond, Va.

    Virginia Union University, North Lombardy Street, Richmond, Va.

  • Virginia Union University, Showing Pickford Hall, Coburn Hall, Huntley Hall, and Hartshorn Hall, Richmond, Va. by Dextor Press, Pearl River, N.Y.

    Virginia Union University, Showing Pickford Hall, Coburn Hall, Huntley Hall, and Hartshorn Hall, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Equestrian Statue and State Capitol, Richmond, Va. by Southern Bargain House, Richmond, Va.

    Washington Equestrian Statue and State Capitol, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Headquarters, Richmond, Va. by Rotograph Co., N.Y. City

    Washington Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Headquarters, Richmond, Va. by Taylor, Platt, and Co., New York

    Washington Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Monument and City Hall, Richmond, Va.

    Washington Monument and City Hall, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Monument, (Capitol Square), Richmond, Va. by Southern Bargain House, Richmond, Va.

    Washington Monument, (Capitol Square), Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Monument in Capitol Square, Richmond, Va. by Tuck & Sons'

    Washington Monument in Capitol Square, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Monument, Richmond, Va.

    Washington Monument, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Monument, Richmond, Va. by Detroit Publishing Co.

    Washington Monument, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington Monument, Richmond, Va. by Detroit Publishing Co.

    Washington Monument, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington's Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

    Washington's Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington's Headquarters, Richmond, Va. by SL & Co.

    Washington's Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington's Headquarters, Richmond, Va. by Souvenir Post Card Co., New York and Berlin

    Washington's Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington's Old Headquarters, Main Street Near 20th Street, Richmond, Va. by Louis Kaufmann & Sons, Baltimore, MD.

    Washington's Old Headquarters, Main Street Near 20th Street, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington's Old Headquarters, Richmond, Va. by Detroit Publishing Co.

    Washington's Old Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington's Old Headquarters, Richmond, Va. by Hugh C. Leighton Co., Manufacturers, Portland, ME.

    Washington's Old Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Washington's Old Headquarters, Richmond, Va. by Hugh C. Leighton Co., Manufacturers, Portland, ME.

    Washington's Old Headquarters, Richmond, Va.

  • Watts Hall and Spence Library, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia

    Watts Hall and Spence Library, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia

  • Watts Hall, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va. by Louis Kaufmann & Sons, Baltimore, MD.

    Watts Hall, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va.

  • Westhampton College [no title]

    Westhampton College [no title]

  • Westmoreland Club, 6th and Grace Sts. Richmond, Va. by Louis Kaufmann & Sons, Baltimore, MD.

    Westmoreland Club, 6th and Grace Sts. Richmond, Va.

  • Westmoreland Club (Sixth and Grace Sts.) Richmond, Va by Southern Bargain House, Richmond, Va.

    Westmoreland Club (Sixth and Grace Sts.) Richmond, Va

  • White House of the Confederacy, Richmond, Va by E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee

    White House of the Confederacy, Richmond, Va

  • White House of the Confederacy Richmond, Virginia by Cussons, May & Co., Richmond, Va.

    White House of the Confederacy Richmond, Virginia

  • 'White House of the Confederacy' (Twelfth and Clay Streets), Richmond, Va. by Gray Line Motor Tours, Richmond, Va.

    'White House of the Confederacy' (Twelfth and Clay Streets), Richmond, Va.

  • White House of the Confederate States of America, The

    White House of the Confederate States of America, The

  • Whitlock Branch, P. Lorillard Co., 23rd and Main Streets, Richmond, Va.

    Whitlock Branch, P. Lorillard Co., 23rd and Main Streets, Richmond, Va.

  • Wickham House Drawing Room [no title] by Dexter Press, Inc.

    Wickham House Drawing Room [no title]

  • Wickham House Garden [no title] by Meriden Gravure Company, Meriden, Conn.

    Wickham House Garden [no title]

  • Wickham House [no title] by Meriden Gravure Company, Meriden, Conn.

    Wickham House [no title]

  • William Barret House [no title] by Meriden Gravure Company, Meriden, Conn.

    William Barret House [no title]

  • Wilton, Richmond, Va. by Meriden Gravure Company, Meriden, Conn.

    Wilton, Richmond, Va.

  • Woman's Club (Franklin, near 3rd St.), Richmond, Va. by Southern Bargain House, Richmond, Va.

    Woman's Club (Franklin, near 3rd St.), Richmond, Va.

  • Women's College, Center Building, Richmond, Va.

    Women's College, Center Building, Richmond, Va.

  • Woodland Heights Baptist Church [no title] by Rowe Distributing Co., Norfolk, Va.

    Woodland Heights Baptist Church [no title]

 

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