Greetings from Washington

March 31–September 9, 2018

From souvenirs, to marketing devices, to the past equivalent of an “I arrived safely” text, postcards tell stories about people and places. Greetings from Washington examined postcards of D.C.—from their golden age at the turn of the 20th century to the vintage glamour of mid-century graphics and beyond.

About the Exhibition

Since the late 19th century, postcards have helped transform the American landscape into an attractive commodity by allowing its image to be reproduced, purchased, and easily viewed by all classes of people. Postcards set expectations about how places should look and trained people how to look at them.

Vintage postcards offer a view of the past that is different from that captured in traditional photographs and through photojournalism. The postcards of Washington in this exhibition demonstrate how postcard aesthetics and uses, as well as commercial portrayals of Washington, have changed over time.

Organized in cooperation with the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies.