July 5, 2010

Greetings From Gray's Landing - Generic Postcards


Many people lived in small-town America, and many people visited or passed through those locations. Unfortunately, the economics of postcard publishing meant that very few (if any) viewcards of those towns would be available. Publishers, cleverly availing themselves of this opportunity, published generic cards with scenes that could not be placed at any location. The names of various towns could be imprinted along one edge, most often top or bottom, with a phrase such as "Greetings from Gray's Landing ".
The generic postcards were most often only sold in general stores within the named communities. And, if postally used, they most often bear the cancellations of the towns in question. So they were, in a very real sense, souvenirs of those towns. To get one, you either had to go there, or have someone send you one from there. Below are some cards from Ten Mile Creek Country.

Clarksville had a generic card with a poem

Deemston had a card


A peaceful scene nowhere near East Millsboro 


Here are three different cards from Fredericktown






I lived in New Freeport for a dozen years and was surprised to find this card from there


two Rice's Landing cards




More information on generic postcards can be found here in a story by Bill Judnick.

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