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    Austin
    Austin
    Austin
    Ebook186 pages54 minutes

    Austin

    By Don Martin

    ()

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    About this ebook

    As the capital of Texas, Austin has a long and colorful history. The first residents were nomadic Native Americans who camped here as long ago as 9000 BC because of the area s beauty, the clear Colorado River, and the wildlife. These are the very same things that attract people to Austin today. Originally called Waterloo, Austin has grown from a tiny town on the edge of the western frontier in 1839 into the capital city it is today. The University of Texas lent prestige, the state government erected buildings, the railroads came to town, and Congress Avenue the main street of Texas filled with thriving businesses.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMar 23, 2009
    ISBN9781439623305
    Austin

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      Book preview

      Austin - Don Martin

      78716)

      INTRODUCTION

      Welcome to Austin, Texas’s history as told through postcards. Unfortunately, only a portion of the city’s interesting history can be told in this manner. After all, postcards did not come onto the scene until 1898 (then called Private Mailing Cards), and the history is limited to those cards that can still be found and collected.

      Instead what follows is an interesting glimpse into Austin’s past. It is not meant to be inclusive, but rather it shows an interesting side to Austin recorded through the photographs and illustrations on postcards sold at roadside stands, gas stations, and in department stores.

      The study and collecting of postcards is called deltiology. Deltiology is the third largest hobby after stamp collecting and money collecting. Compared to philately (stamp collecting), the identification of a postcard’s place and time can often be a near impossible task. Postmarks of course can help date used postcards, and those with postmarks are noted in this book. Postcards are also collected by historical societies, libraries, and genealogical societies because of their importance in research, such as how a city looked at a particular time in history as well as social history.

      To help with dating postcards, it is helpful to know a general timeline:

      PRIVATE MAILING CARDS (1898–1901)

      Beginning May 19, 1898, printers were allowed to print the first postcards, called Private Mailing Cards, with the required wording Authorized by an Act of Congress—May 19, 1898. The back was used strictly for the address only, with occasionally a small blank area on the front (the picture side) for any message. Many were embossed and color printed and were often printed in England or Germany.

      REAL-PHOTO POSTCARDS (RPPCS) (1900–PRESENT)

      Beginning about 1900, these cards involve the use of a real photograph printed on photograph paper, with a pre-printed back used to form a postcard. They are particularly difficult to date unless they have a postmark or a date from the photographer, but they provide a one-of-a-kind or limited number of images as opposed to printed images and are valued collectibles.

      UNDIVIDED BACK (1901–1907)

      Starting December 4, 1901, publishers were allowed to use Postcard or Post Card on the back, but still no writing was allowed on the back (opposite the picture side) except for the address.

      DIVIDED BACK (1907–1914)

      Starting on March 1, 1907, postcards could be printed with a vertical line on the back providing an area for the address, and the area to the left was used for a written message.

      WHITE-BORDER ERA (1917-1930)

      During this period, cards were sometimes printed with a white border around the picture to save ink and printing expenses because of World War I. The quality of cards during this era is often not up to par with earlier standards. Often the cards were printed in black and white.

      LINEN CARDS (1930–1945)

      The Curt Teich Company (also Curteich, C. T., and C. T.-Colortone) inaugurated an era of vibrant color cards printed on a linen-textured paper stock typically with a high rag content. Photographs were airbrushed and color enhanced for visual appeal. Other publishers quickly followed suit. These types of cards were very popular at the time and are very popular with collectors today.

      PHOTOCHROME (1939–PRESENT)

      Photochromes, also known as modern chromes, are in color and are professionally printed on glossy paper stock. Their spread was momentarily slowed during World War II as a result of supply shortages, but they had replaced both linen and black-and-white postcards by 1945 and are typically what is used today.

      One

      CONGRESS AVENUE AND DOWNTOWN

      GREETINGS FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS. Large letter cards like this are themselves a specialty among postcard collectors. This card is one of the more interesting ones featuring Austin and seems like as good a place to start a book on Austin postcards. Chapter one will feature scenes from Congress Avenue and downtown Austin. (Published by Colourpicture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Hausler-Kilian Cigar and Candy Company, Austin.)

      MAIN STREET OF TEXAS, POSTMARKED 1903. Known as the Main Street of Texas, Congress Avenue runs from the Colorado River (and beyond) in the south and north to the state capitol. At one point in time, one could drive a car, ride a horse-drawn carriage, or use the electric streetcar to travel the avenue. On the reverse, the writer says, This is the widest and most beautiful street in the State of Texas. (Published by Tobin’s Book Store, Austin.)

      CONGRESS AVENUE. This early undivided-back postcard scene is from the horse-and-buggy era, yet the electrical streetcar is already in use as well with the overhead electric lines running down the middle of Congress Avenue. Scarborough and Hick’s department store is on the left. The windmill on the left is unusual to see in a city setting. (Published by Raphael Tuck and Sons, Austin.)

      MOON TOWERS. Congress terminates here at the state capitol. To the left of the capitol in the background is the Old Main building of the University of Texas. Note that there are three barely visible moon towers. Thirty-one moon towers (each 165 feet tall) were installed around the city and connected to their own generators at the Colorado River dam to provide nighttime lighting in Austin. (Published by Abe Frank, Austin.)

      CONGRESS AVENUE AUTOMOBILES. Soon automobiles began to replace the horse and buggy (shown here are automobiles, buggies, and horse-drawn wagons). In 1905, Congress Avenue was paved with bricks, mostly from the Thurber Brick Works in Thurber, Texas, to accommodate the increasing number of automobiles. Paving began soon thereafter on other downtown streets as well. (Published by Sauter and Kuehne, Austin; Waneen Spirduso collection.)

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