Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Found in Boston: Vintage Postcards


A designer friend of mine was recently planning her Boston-based wedding, and found some amazing vintage postcards of the city that served as invitation inspiration. In turn, they were inspiration for this "Found in Boston" post. When you walk through the Public Gardens or throughout Beacon Hill, you can't help but get a sense of the city's rich history, and these postcards evoke a nostalgia for Boston's heyday with beautiful images printed in muted tones. I love the backs about equally— one is scribbled with a message about the "moving pictures" dated 10-11-12, back when postage was only one cent! On the other hand, the "Greetings from Cape Cod" postcard dates back only to the 80s, but I just couldn't resist a photomontage so wrong it's right.

A majority of the postcards I purchased came from a store on the lovely Charles Street, which is absolutely ripe with antiques and ephemera. But on the suggestion of my roommate (who contributed some postcards of her own to the slideshow), I also checked out the Cambridge Antique Market. I was absolutely blown away by what I found— 150 eclectic dealers and 5 floors of antiques made this quite the shopping experience. I snapped a few photos, but if you live in Boston or enjoy antiquing, you should definitely stop in. ••••

5 comments:

Sarah Martin said...

The perfect Boston post! That is exactly what is so amazing about Boston. I love that although the postcards are antiques and have that classic vintage look...most of those scenes look the same today.

Meghan Colvin said...

Tess! I love this!!! I love my California roots, but Boston will always hold a special place in my heart. And these postcards/images remind me of why I love that city so much. Sarah is right, so many of these scenes look the same today...i recognize so many of the buildings! Seriously, great post! and I LOVE the back of the cards as well...they could be a post all on their own!

Anonymous said...

tess, such a good post. worth a trip to lechmere! lovely lovely.

Sarah Cowen said...

YAY, thanks for the shout out! The Cambridge Antique Mart ROCKS! I found a great NYC, Rockefeller Center postcard there which I used for my sister's save the date card. About a month after her wedding she went to the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center and in their mini museum, there was a copy of the same postcard I found over in Cambridge. I think I'll have to ride my bike over there soon...

Marie Reed said...

Thank you for sharing your images! I love to travel via vintage postcards!