Rarely Seen Richmond
from Virginia Commonwealth University
A digital collection of over 600 postcard images of Richmond, most dating from 1900-1930, from the James Branch Cabell Library Special Collections and Archives. The intent of the collection is to help document early twentieth century Richmond by displaying a unique collection of images of the city. Many of these images include buildings and structures that either no longer exist or have since been altered. The subject matter of these postcards also lends insight into the social and cultural attitudes of those times. Postcards began to be widely used in the United States soon after the passage of the Private Mailing Card Act in 1898. It freed private publishers from what was considered unfair competition from government issued cards. In the next few years the demand for postcards grew as a craze for collecting them spread throughout the country. Dozens of postcard printers, both American and European, began producing postcard views. This "golden age" of postcard publishing and collecting lasted from 1898 through 1912 when thousands of cards were produced, mailed, and collected by the public. According to figures issued by the U.S. Post Office for fiscal year 1907-1908, 677,777,798 postcards were mailed in the United States in that year. Though the craze for postcards diminished by the time World War I began, postcards continued to be published and collected. One estimate has put the number of Richmond, Virginia postcard views at 2,000. Many of the postcards in this collection were colorized from original black and white photographs. For more information about Virginia postcard history, see Kelly Henderson, "The Art of the View: Picture Postcards of Virginia, 1900-1925," Virginia Cavalcade, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Autumn 1990), 66-73. VCU Libraries originally digitized this collection in 2000. The postcards were scanned by Archivist Ray Bonis, and the metadata was generated by Bonis and then-head of Library Information Services Jimmy Ghaphery. Additional metadata was supplied by Metadata Librarian Mary Anne Dyer in 2008.
Georeferencing Progress
81.7% complete (4 skipped)Georeferenced Images Map
Images
Panoramic View of Richmond College, Richmond, Va.
City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Richmond College, Richmond, Va.
City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Richmond College, Richmond, Va.
Note: Series # 211253; City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Richmond College, Richmond, Va.
City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va.
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): Union Theological Seminary. In Ginter Park, facing Chamberlayne Avenue and Brook Road, this is the principal…
Bishops Recessional, Episcopal Convention, 1907, …
1907
Note: Copyright, 1907, Edyth Carter Beveridge; City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Watts Hall and Spence Library, Union Theological …
Note: 3400 block of Brook Road; This postcard has an undivided back ; City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va.
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): This institution, the oldest and largest of its kind under the government of the Southern Presbyterian Churc…
Highland Park Public School, Highland Park, Richm…
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): Corner Stone laid April 24th, 1909. School first opened Sept. 27th, 1909. Note: Beautiful and Historical Ri…
Springfield School, 26th and Leigh Streets, Richm…
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): Springfield School, 20th and Leigh Street, Richmond, Va. is one of the most modern and complete Elementary S…
![Highland Springs High School [no title]](https://cdn.yesterdays.maprva.org/images/16723/1/thumbnail.webp)
Highland Springs High School [no title]
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): Established in 1891, Highland Springs High School, located in Richmond, Virginia's metropolitan area, offers…
Memorial Home for Girls, Richmond, Va.
City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Male Orphan Asylum, Amelia St., Between Meadow an…
City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Male Orphan Asylum, Richmond, Virginia
Note: [note on front reads: Foster Photo] City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Pickford Hall, Virginia Union University, Richmon…
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): Made for Virginia Union University, Va. Postmarked: 1910 City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Virginia Union University, North Lombardy Street,…
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): This Christian Institution of learning, chartered in 1896, is under the control of the American Baptist Home…
Aerial View of Virginia Union University, 500 Nor…
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): These buildings of Virginia granite form part of a fifty-five acre campus. The Institution was chartered in …
Virginia Union University, 1500 North Lombardy St…
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): These buildings of Virginia granite form part of a fifty-five acre campus. The Institution was chartered in …
Aerial View of Virginia Union University, 1500 No…
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): These buildings of Virginia granite form part of a fifty-five acre campus. The Institution was chartered in …
Vann Tower, Virginia Union University, Richmond, …
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): This landmark of Virginia Union University was reconstructed from materials of the Belgian Pavilion of the 1…
Virginia Union University, Showing Pickford Hall,…
Note: African American College; 1500 block of North Lombardy; City/Location: Richmond (Va.)
Richmond Professional Institute, Richmond, Va.
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): RPI, founded in 1917, is a state-aided, co-educational institute of higher learning in Richmond, Virginia. S…
Maggie Walker High School, Richmond, Va.
Card Text \(transcribed from postcard\): Maggie L. Walker School (1938) is a public, comprehensive school, offering vocational, general, and college…
Maggie Walker High School, Richmond, Va.
Note: Silvercraft, made by Dexter press, Pearl River, N.Y. City/Location: Richmond (Va.)