Description
The John and Jane Adams Postcard Collection consists of over 100 years of history and communication through postcards. The postcards are diverse in size, format, and
subject. The collection contains more than 4,500 postcards of San Diego County, and 8,500 postcards representing parts of
the state of California and the development of California. Individual states in the U.S. as well as other countries of the
world also have categories in the collection. Postcards are also arranged by publisher, type, and topic. Also included with
the collection are research materials related to postcard collections and collecting, albums of postcards, and a balsawood
postcard file box. The collection has been broken down into distinct categories, both topically and geographically. Each box
is identified with its category abbreviation and box number.
Background
Postcards began circulation as a convenient means of quick and often colorful communication in the mid-to-late 19th century.
Both American and European publishers took advantages of the postcard craze of the early 20th Century as millions of postcards
of a variety of subjects and topics were produced, circulated, and collected. The popularity of postcard collecting diminished
during World War I and postcards have never achieved quite the popularity they initially held, but postcards are still widely
produced, circulated, and collected worldwide for various reasons and occasions.
Restrictions
The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with
the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections
is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be
submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available
for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including
but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Availability
This collection is open for research.