In recent years I came into possession of a series of boxes belonging to my grandfather. Wills, army medical records, deeds, birth certificates, wedding telegrams, and photographs painted a vivid picture of his accomplishments, whereabouts, and frame of mind. He died years before I was born which fed my fascination in building a vivid account of my family history in adulthood. Cursive, vintage letterheads, and rich sepia tones brought an aesthetic sophistication and more feeling to a dormant, unknown, and seemingly unaccounted chapter of my own story. Around this same time, I organically stumbled across vintage postcards at a used bookstore that spoke to me through these new ways in which I was now receiving. I found myself attracted to the exquisite care with which we wrote to one another decades ago. There were color lithographs and warm tone photographs (real photographic postcards or RPPCs) that reminded me of the intimate yet telling views I found in my own family archive.
I was moved by the sometimes banal, sometimes emotional, and sometimes deeply revealing messages that left me curious about both author and recipient. I couldn’t help but think of Facebook status updates but in physical manifestations and over a century its senior. Today Life360 tracks our children for us, yet here are paper receipts for one person on one day attempting connection.
If money is a barometer of inherent value, today’s online auction marketplaces sell these postcards for negligible amounts of money. As a person who places incredibly value on the personal maturity and cultural awareness that comes from the American road trip, Noble Wolf Studio diverts some of its profits to building its own collection of postcards. We specialize in stamped, postmarked, messaged postcards thematically dedicated to the American landscape and roadways.
If you’d like to donate funds towards this particular initiative please utilize the link above. If you have postcards that you’d like to donate to our collection, please email info@noblewolf.studio or call Travis Patterson at 202.412.1282 for a positive rapport building conversation.
