New London Postcards

This digital exhibition presents images of New London, Connecticut, postcards from the first few decades of the twentieth century. Postcards can tell us quite a bit about a time and a place, well beyond the depiction of familiar buildings and landmarks. They can tell us about neighborhoods and streets that were considered important; they can show some of the changes that occurred in those places over time. Postcards can also show some of their advantages and limitations as a form of communication, and even provide clues about the history of printing and publishing. Our digital exhibit helps users learn about all these things as they look at pictures of the area's lighthouses, historical and municipal buildings, churches, neighborhoods, streets, hotels and military installations. An eye for detail — as well as perusal of the descriptive information that's included — can illuminate many other elements, including historical information about dress, transportation and architecture; the kinds of things poeple wrote to each other via postcard during the early twentieth century; the places to and from which New Londoners were communicating; and the key publishers of the day. Whatever your purpose for viewing these postcards — be it scholarly research or personal enjoyment, or somehwere in between — we hope that doing so is a productive endeavor. Click the links on the righthand side of this page to get started.