The University of Delaware Library Postcard Collection comprises over two thousand postcards of Delaware and nearby areas. The postcards in the collection date mainly from the very end of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth, although there are also postcards from throughout the later part of the twentieth century. Most of the cards in the collection were commercially produced and represent well-known Delaware buildings, monuments, and views, such as the State Capitol in Dover, Wilmington’s downtown buildings and historic structures, and Rehoboth’s beaches and boardwalks. A number of the cards, though, document small town life in Delaware, including street scenes and domestic buildings. In addition to documenting the built landscape of Delaware as it existed during the last hundred years, some of these images may not exist in any other format.

Along with buildings, the collection also represents aspects of social life in Delaware during the past century. Some of the cards were produced privately and are in fact photographs that have been printed onto postcard paper. These were created by individuals for the consumption of their own small circle of family and friends and were not mass-produced or sold in retail stores. These postcards document many aspects of society including firemen at work, literary societies, and sports teams.

Although most of the cards depict sights in Delaware, the collection also contains images of places outside the State, most notably Longwood Gardens in nearby Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Other cards are simply related to Delaware. These include Delaware buildings built for fairs and expositions, ships that were based in Delaware, and the battleship, the U.S.S. Delaware. Other postcards represent Delaware soldiers during the Mexican Campaign of 1916.

Postcards are not only visual records. Many of the postcards were in fact mailed and so contain written messages, stamps, and postmarks. The backs of the cards were also printed with information about the publisher, captions describing the image, and ornament. The printed text, along with the stamp and postmark, can help to date and place the manufacture and use of the cards. Alternatively, the captions and written messages contain a wealth of information that can be used to learn about the postcard’s image or to illuminate the attitudes and interests of the past.

Viewing the Postcards

Use the links above to access the ContentDM Search page, or browse the terms in selected indexes by clicking on Browse Geographically or Browse by Subject. To view all of the postcards in the collection, go to the ContentDM Browse page. To view all the postcards in order by county and thereunder by city, change your Preferences to sort by the Identifier field.

Two essays highlight special aspects of the collection. One essay is about photographic, or "Real Photo" postcards, and the other is a history of the the development of the University of Delaware campus as depicted in postcard images of the University.

J. L. Smith's 1903 map, titled An Invitation to Delaware, shows the location of many of the Delaware cities and towns depicted in the postcard collection. An eighteenth century map, Delaware from the Best Authorities, shows Delaware's three counties: New Castle in the north, Kent in the center, and Sussex county in the south.