The Catskills in Vintage Postcards

Book excerpt: From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication. Many of the postcards produced during this "golden age," and even some from later years, can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores and five and dimes across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating new history of the Catskills of New York showcases more than two hundred of the best, most evocative vintage postcards available.