Postcards at Avoca

Avoca is home to hundreds of letters and documents, all stored in the museum’s archives files. A generous chunk of these letters come in the form of postcards. Today, several of these postcards will be featured. All pictured below, these selected postcards all come from the early 20th century and are addressed to Ethel C. Fauntleroy from Oten Rush Floyd. Ethel is one of the Fauntleroy sisters of which little is known about. She died unmarried in 1952, but within the museum archives are dozens of letters written over decades all addressed to her from Floyd. One can’t help but wonder how the stories of these two people who both died never married became intertwined. The holiday postcards pictured are dated to the early 1900s. This is significant because the early 20th century is when postcards truly took off. Previous to this most words were confined to letter form. Postcards provided a way to more thoroughly connect the sender to the receiver. A picture in the form of a postcard can be treasured and remembered. After the early 1900s postcards only continued to skyrocket in popularity. Collecting postcards soon became a well-known hobby that continues to this day. Many people take joy in purchasing a postcard on their travels or sending a loved one an endearing holiday greeting.