I was in Reed’s Antiques & Collectibles in Wells, Maine, when I stopped to look through the hundreds of vintage/antique postcards of Maine near the register. Now, I’m not a collector of ephemera, but I started looking through the old postcards, many of which had illegible hand-written missives on the back. (Reed’s Antiques is located at 1773 Post Road in Wells, Maine. More info at bottom of this post.)
One of these postcards, with an image of an OOB beachside hotel along with “Réginald Cloutier, propriétaire,” caught my attention as soon as I turned it over. I felt a bit like a voyeur, reading a message that had been written on the postcard almost 70 years ago.
Having a Wonderful Time
It was 1953, and a young woman named Phyllis was staying at The Beachwood in Old Orchard Beach (Réginald Cloutier was the propriétaire). For the price of two cents, this vacationer mailed a picture postcard of the hotel to the folks back home.
“Hi everyone,” she wrote, in a fine (legible) script, “This is the hotel we’re staying at. We’re having a wonderful time. We went to Portland with some sailors last night.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d want to tell my parents I’d had a wonderful time with some sailors up in Portland. Just saying.
The golden age of postcards was between 1907 and 1915, when Americans of all ages sent and collected postcards of every variety. Popular subjects included vacation spots, famous buildings, local scenes, cute animals and children, humor, fashion, patriotic and historical themes.
Ever since the 1870s people have been sending 3.5”x5.5” mailing cards without envelopes – postcards. Initially, they were plain government-issued cards, with no pretty pictures. They only allowed an address written on the front. On the back, there was a limited area for writing a short message.
The first American souvenir postcard, privately printed in color in 1873, provided room to write a brief missive on the picture side; the back was relegated to address-only.
The Cost of Communication
The cost of sending a postcard was six cents in 1863, but by 1883 it had dropped to four cents, due to a more efficient delivery system. They reduced the price to one cent in the early 1900s; it remained unchanged for several years before gradually creeping up. Today sending your friends a colorful souvenir postcard will set you back 40 cents.
Biddeford Celebrates
This 1905 color postcard of Hotel Thacher in Biddeford, covered in bunting for a Semi-Centennial, has designated the entire back ‘for address only.’ There is no room for a personal note. It wasn’t until 1907 that the Post Office finally changed the regulations to allow printers to divide the back into separate areas for address and correspondence.
Vintage postcards often celebrate historical events. The Thacher Hotel, built in 1846, was a three-story Greek Revival brick building that housed several businesses. This 1905 color postcard shows the hotel covered in bunting during a Semi-Centennial celebration in 1885.
Strike a Pose
A popular trend in the early 20th century was to have a photograph of yourself made into postcards. According to the collections manager at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, this hand-colored postcard depicts a florist shop greenhouse on Brown Street, Kennebunk.
I love this postcard, with the delicate hand-tinting of the flowers. The man at left must be the owner of the greenhouse, judging by his proud stance. The couple on the right, posing among pink carnations, are Jack Elwell and Ida Downing Elwell. Apparently the couple is buried together in Evergreen Cemetery in Kennebunk. I wonder if they have pink carnations at their gravesite.
Kennebunkport’s Dock Square
This 1912 postcard depicts Post Office Square (now Dock Square), Kennebunkport, with early automobiles motoring alongside buggies. Today, the Bonsers’ Bazar building is occupied by Colonial Pharmacy. George Bonser & Son, “Dealers in Clothing, Gent’s Furnishing Goods,” also had a store at “No. 17 Main Street, Masons’ Block, Kennebunk.”
As a side business, they published color postcards of local scenes.
Kennebunk Beach
George Bonser & Son printed the 1912 postcard of The King’s Highway, Kennebunk Beach, below. The green building with the tower, at left, is now the Kennebunk Beach Improvement Assoc. (KBIA), at the junction of Sea Rd. and Beach Ave. The KBIA began offering recreational summer programs 112 years ago, in 1910.
OOB Sure Was Fun
Noah’s Ark and the Slide were popular at Old Orchard Beach’s seaside amusement park in 1944, as you can see from this vintage postcard. The boat-shaped ark located beside the pier was a kid-friendly funhouse that rocked. The Jack-and-Jill slide was scarier; two people would be hoisted in a bucket to the top of the 50-foot tower; they’d then whiz down a metal slide on a large mat.
I’m not sure if the bucket or the slide scares me more.
The Flying Yankee
The Flying Yankee train arrives at Old Orchard Beach on this linen postcard circa 1940. The three-car streamlined Boston and Maine-Maine Central train was a diesel electric, the first with air conditioning. It was christened with a bottle of water from Sebago Lake in 1935, and attracted riders on its 750-mile round-trip between Portland, Boston and Bangor until service ended in 1957.
A Special UFO Greeting
A more contemporary example of a postcard (maybe 1970s) features UFOs hovering over Old Orchard Beach. The caption on the back reads, “So Where Else Would You Expect To See A UFO? Greetings from Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Special Bonjour.”
Right: The entrance to the Camp Ground at Old Orchard Beach, 1945, with a signboard telling what the sermon-of-the-day was.
In 1888, the beach at Ogunquit was connected to the mainland by a bridge. its easy access made the seaside town a popular holiday destination.
Next time you visit a Maine antique and collectibles shop, be sure to look for vintage postcards of Maine. And don’t forget to turn them over to see what’s written on the back. Deltiology, the study of picture postcards, can offer an insightful look at a bygone era.
Museums and historical societies often house postcard collections, usually depicting local history, architecture and landmarks, as well as studio shots and custom-printed postcards, like the Elwells had made of themselves. They may be accessible as digital collections, too.
Some links you may like:
Reed’s Antiques & Collectibles doesn’t seem to have a website but you can view photos in the Google Directory HERE
The Beachwood – a classic Maine motel located in Old Orchard Beach. https://www.thebeachwoodoob.com/
Postcards of Maine https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Postcards_of_Maine
Deltiology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deltiology
Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk https://brickstoremuseum.org/
Frommer’s History in Coastal Maine https://www.frommers.com/destinations/coastal-maine/history
Southern Maine Beaches https://www.visitmaine.net/page/55/beaches-maine
Written by Geraldine Aikman
It’s lots of fun to look at old postcards. I have one here in the studio which is a little fake certificate which says “Down and out club,twenty-three skidoo.” Also, a fox terrier card with a real pink bow on the collar.
Thanks, Carla! It’s like looking into a time capsule.