Coal country
Eastern Kentucky's coal fields boomed in the early twentieth century, when railroads reached the mountains and companies built camps in the hollows. Real photo cards of tipples, miners, company stores and coal camps are historically significant and collected, and many camps were photographed only a few times. Harlan, Hazard, Middlesboro, Jenkins, Lynch and many smaller places appear on cards.
The mountains
Beyond coal, the Kentucky mountains had logging, small farms, one-room schools, churches and mountain towns. Real photos of mountain life, schools and settlement institutions are collected, though printed cards of the period sometimes portrayed the region in stereotyped ways.
The Bluegrass and horses
The horse farms around Lexington, with their barns, fences and famous stallions, appear on many cards. The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville has been run since 1875, and early postcards of the track, crowds and winners are popular with racing collectors.
Louisville and the river
Louisville's streets, riverfront, bridges, factories and steamboats appear on cards, along with Ohio River towns such as Paducah, Owensboro, Henderson, Maysville and Covington. The great Ohio River flood of 1937 hit Louisville and Paducah hard and was widely photographed.
Tobacco and bourbon
Tobacco farms, barns and auction warehouses were central to the Kentucky economy, and real photos of tobacco sales and warehouses are distinctive. Distilleries appear on advertising and view cards and interest bourbon collectors, though Prohibition closed many of them.
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave was a tourist attraction long before it became a national park in 1941. Early cards of the cave's passages, guides, hotel and the competing caves nearby are collected.
Places and subjects to look for
- Eastern coal fields: Harlan, Hazard, Lynch, Jenkins and coal camps.
- The Bluegrass: Lexington, horse farms and Frankfort's capitol.
- Louisville: Churchill Downs, the riverfront and city streets.
- River towns: Paducah, Owensboro, Maysville and Covington.
- Western Kentucky: tobacco country and courthouse towns.
- Cave country: Mammoth Cave and nearby attractions.
Courthouse towns
Kentucky has 120 counties, more than all but two other states, so it has many county seats with courthouses and squares. Real photos of these towns on court days, when farmers came to trade livestock and goods, are popular with local collectors.
Real photos versus printed views
Printed views of Louisville, Churchill Downs, the capitol and Mammoth Cave were produced in quantity. Real photos of coal camps, mountain towns, river towns and courthouse squares carry most of the value in a Kentucky collection.
What is common
Printed views of Louisville buildings, horse farms and later chrome tourist cards of Mammoth Cave are plentiful.
Why coal camp cards are so valued
Many Kentucky coal camps were built quickly, existed for a few decades and then declined or vanished when mines closed. Their houses, stores and tipples were torn down, and families moved away. Real photo postcards are often the only images of these camps as working communities, and descendants of mining families, historians and collectors all look for them. That is why a real photo of an obscure camp can matter far more than its plain appearance suggests.
Railroads and the L&N
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was the dominant line in Kentucky, and its depots, bridges and trains appear on many cards, along with the coal-hauling lines that pushed into the eastern mountains. Depot real photos with trains and crowds are popular with railroad and town collectors.
Springs and resorts
Before the automobile age, Kentucky had mineral springs resorts such as Crab Orchard Springs, Dawson Springs and Grayson Springs, with hotels where visitors came to take the waters. Postcards of these resorts, many of them long gone, are collected by Kentucky historians and resort enthusiasts.
Questions about Kentucky postcards
Are Kentucky coal camp postcards valuable? Real photos of camps, tipples and miners are collected and can be scarce.
Are early Kentucky Derby postcards collectible? Yes, especially early views of the track, crowds and winners.
Are Mammoth Cave postcards worth anything? Early views are collected; later chromes are common.
Do you buy Kentucky collections? Yes, complete collections from anywhere in the state, by mail.