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Alan and Sharon Kline's website

Alan and Sharon Kline's website

Home >> Iowa Postcards >> A Penny Postcard Tour of Eastern Iowa
A Penny Postcard Tour of Eastern Iowa

In the days before television and rapid transportation, penny postcards were a common way for friends to keep in touch, and to see places where they never had been and might never go. The cards, to a great degree, reflected the artistic style of the times--particularly the back of the card, (below) where the message and address were written.

These postcards, from the collection of my grandmother, the late Marguerite Fancher Kline, are all from the period around 1910. They center around four communities in Eastern Iowa: Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, North English, and Deep River. We'll begin in Iowa City.

Comments, corrections, and additional information on these scenes are greatly appreciated. Please e-mail us-- click "Contact Us" in the main menu...

While, as far as I know, all of the images presented here are in the public domain, the scans of those images are copyright © 2009 Alan Kline. These scans may be downloaded and saved for personal use, but no commercial use, publication, or redistrubution (print or electronic) is permitted without permission. Images or documents referenced by links to other Web sites are the property and responsibility of their respective site owners. No claim is made here to those images or documents.

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folder icon 8 01-Iowa City
Iowa City, of course, was the first capital of the state of Iowa, and has been the home of the University of Iowa since its founding in 1847. Most of the buildings here, except for the Dentistry building and the old Park Road bridge, may still be seen today.
folder icon 12 02-Cedar Rapids
Our tour continues, on the Crandic interurban, about 30 miles to the north, to Cedar Rapids.
folder icon 7 03-North English
My grandmother grew up in North English, in Iowa county, on state highway 149 southwest of Iowa City, but I don't know a great deal about the town itself. About all I can offer here is the description from the postcards themselves--not much to go with. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated!
folder icon 9 04-Deep River
Finally, we reach the town of Deep River, in southeastern Poweshiek County. Here's a little information on the early history of the town.

DocumentsDate added

Order by : Name | Date | Hits [ Descendent ]
An example of the back side (the message and address side) of the postcards in this gallery.
The Rock Island Lines depot at Davenport, IA. This classic brick structure was regrettably demolished in the 1970's. More views are available at the Rock Island Technical Society.
 
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