American Holiday Postcards, 1905-1915

In the early 20th century, postcards were one of the most important and popular expressions of holiday sentiment in American culture. However, their uses and meanings were far from universal. This book argues that holiday postcards circulated primarily among rural and small town, Northern, white women with Anglo-Saxon and Germanic heritages. Daniel Gifford recreates the history of postcards to account for these specific audiences, and reconsiders the postcard phenomenon as an...
More Description

In the early 20th century, postcards were one of the most important and popular expressions of holiday sentiment in American culture. However, their uses and meanings were far from universal. This book argues that holiday postcards circulated primarily among rural and small town, Northern, white women with Anglo-Saxon and Germanic heritages. Daniel Gifford recreates the history of postcards to account for these specific audiences, and reconsiders the postcard phenomenon as an image-based conversation among exclusive groups of Americans.