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ETRC Postcard Collection

 Collection
Identifier: B-0073

Scope and Contents

This collection contains postcards from various people and their travels, mainly in the State of Texas, but also some from various other states. The various places included in this postcard collection include Stephen F. Austin State University, Main Street Nacogdoches, The Old Stone Fort, Huntsville, Jefferson, Diboll, Center, San Augustine, Toledo Bend, and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. This collection also has places such as Sabine County and the Hoya Library and Museum. Many of the postcards contain writing on the reverse side. - Two of the most interesting postcards in the collection were printed in 1908. The first [Folder 49] was published by Harkrider Drug Co., Center, Texas. It has a photograph of five African-American men hanging from a dogwood tree after they were lynched in Sabine County. T. DeBenning’s poem “The Dogwood Tree” is a subscript to the gruesome photograph. The ETRC copy of the postcard is in poor condition, with roughly 25% of the photograph and text missing. To see the full postcard, reference Henry Louis Gates Jr., “The Trope of a New Negro and the Reconstruction of the Image of the Black,” in The New American Studies: Essays from Representations, by Philip Fisher (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), p.339 (Call # E169.1 .N542 1991 in the SFA library stacks) or GoogleBooks (http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520073290). The second [Folder 53], “Great Drop in Colored Goods,” by P. Gordon, is a caricature of African Americans. It is postmarked from Nacogdoches in 1908 with a handwritten note. - The postcard in Folder 49 is frequently referenced in scholarly works and could be a nice starting point for an upper-level undergraduate or graduate student paper.

Dates

  • Creation: 1908-1970

Language of Materials

The collection is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Biographical or Historical Information

The postcards in this collection were acquired by the East Texas Research Center staff at yard and estate sales.

Extent

0.25 Cubic Feet

Arrangement

This collection is processed at the item level, arranged into six series, and is currently contained in one small box. Many of the postcards were originally in the the photograph collection and thus have corresponding 'P' numbers. There is not a folder 52.



Series 1 - Stephen F. Austin State University



Series 2 - Nacogdoches, Texas



Series 3 - Texas



Series 4 - Non Texas



Series 5 - Miscellaneous



Series 6 - Additions to the Collection

Related Materials

Evelyn Ellis Morgan Collection (A/281).

Title
Guide to the ETRC Postcard Collection
Author
Michael Smith and Kyle Ainsworth
Date
1/2/2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the East Texas Research Center Repository

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