Streetcars in New York and shoppers on a Seattle sidewalk: Fascinating colour postcards reveal daily life in America in the 1900s
- Vibrant snapshots of daily life in America in the 1900s offer a detailed journey into the past
- Popular postcards were printed in their millions as souvenirs for holidaymakers across the country
- The dazzling images were created by blending photography and early colour printing techniques
Sunday revellers carouse along the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, early automobiles rattle along Seattle’s dusty streets and a man in a bowler hat carves his name into a sand sculpture.
These vibrant snapshots of daily life in America in the 1900s were popular Photochrome postcards – created by blending photography and early colour printing techniques.
From the Lucky Strike billboards to the Chicago railway track that opened up travel to all, these tourist souvenirs were printed in their millions each year and offer a detailed journey into the past.
They were taken in a decade when the United States was on the cusp of its Industrial Revolution bouncing back from the depression of the 1890s. Immigration was beginning to boom and while the country was still largely rural, pioneers such as JP Morgan and Andrew Carnegie were starting to shape history.
The juxtaposition and tension between the old and new is evident in many of the images in an era where lightbulbs and skyscrapers were first introduced.
Conversely, vacation hotspots and the breath-taking sense of escape they provide remain largely unchanged even over a century later. Whimsical images of Yosemite, Yellowstone and Santa Monica reveal that they are timelessly captivating.
Old and new: Streetcars snake through Herald Square, New York in this postcard from 1904. The first signs of the future are evident in the skyline which is starting to shoot up but remnants of the past are also visible in the use of horse and cart
Little has changed but if you glance closely a lady in period dress poses under the Arch Rock in Santa Monica in this postcard from circa 1888-1905
Timeless appeal: This image of the resplendent Yosemite Valley was created as a colour photochrome print circa 1898
In this vintage postcard a man in a bowler hat carve a message next to an elaborate sand sculpture
Shoppers jostle along a busy sidewalk and early automobiles career down First Avenue, Seattle, in this 1904 postcard
From the Lucky Strike billboards to the Chicago railway track which opened up travel to all, these tourist souvenirs which were printed in their millions each year and offer a detailed journey into the past. Pictured is Wabash Avenue, Chicago in 1900
Popular holiday hotspot: Sunday revellers carouse along the boardwalk in Atlantic City at the turn of the century
Beach and Boardwalk goers in Victorian garb enjoy the sights of the shore on the New Jersey coast in 1900 (left) while South Dome, Yosemite Valley, looks just appealing now as it did in this postcard from circa 1898-1905
These vibrant snapshots of daily life in America in the 1900s were popular Photochrome postcards – created by blending photography and early colour printing techniques. Pictured is a Californian park in 1905
Natural beauty: Vintage postcard view of the Pulpit Terraces in Yellowstone National Park
The juxtaposition and tension between the old and new is evident in many of the postcards in an era where lightbulbs and skyscrapers were first introduced
Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, California stars in this postcard from 1902
Photochrome print from 1900 of a Philadelphia row house where it was claimed Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag (left)) and a vintage postcard view of Boston's Old South Church (right)
Holidaymakers at the turn of the century could stay at accommodation such as Hotel El Tovar, Grand Canyon, Arizona which was snapped in this postcard from 1905
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