NEBRASKAland
●
MARCH 2015 23
"Bringing in the Sheaves, A common scene on a Nebr. farm" is a well done card, especially for its copyrighted date of 1908. Back
reads "Published by the North American Post Card Co. Kansas City, U. S. A."
water, and the look on the
fisherman's face matches
that of Roy Scheider in
Jaws when he turns to
Robert Shaw's character
Quint and says, "We're
goin' need a bigger boat."
Often after postcards
were printed, a town
or state name was
superimposed over the
image. These postcards,
referred to as "generic
cards," allowed the
same image to be sent
to different regions with
different state names.
Sometimes the location
was written in script by
an artist, and sometimes a
name was simply stamped
on. Another popular image
was, and still is, postcards
of U.S. maps where Texas
or Florida are shown
exaggerated to five or six
times their true scale.
The cards are bits of
history and nostalgic, not
just for the pictures on
front, but for the cryptic
bit of news on the back. I
hold one dated 1938 that
reads; "I can't remember
how long ago it was that
I wrote. I thought I would
send a card to let you all
know that I am still among
the living. Exams start
tomorrow. My last exam
comes June 4th."
Another is sent to a
name in Schuyler in 1911.
At that time, no street
addresses were needed.
The card reads in part,
"We are all well so far [no
punctuation] child died in
town of dipitria [sic] so I
am in fear if the sickness
will spread. From Nettie."
Each of these cards, from
front to back, has a story
to tell. And good news
for collectors is that these
cards can be purchased
fairly cheaply. Yet it's
doubtful this will be the
case in just a few short
years as their popularity
continues to increase.
■
Margaret Lukas is an author
living in Omaha. Her debut
novel, Farthest House, was
released in 2014.
