Boston
Boston's Common, State House, harbor, North End, Back Bay and busy downtown streets were printed in enormous numbers. Printed views of landmarks and historic sites are common. Real photos of neighborhoods, street life, storefronts, the waterfront and events are more interesting to collectors, as are cards of businesses and buildings long gone.
The mill cities
Lowell, Lawrence, Fall River, New Bedford, Holyoke, Chicopee, Fitchburg and many smaller towns were built around textile, shoe, paper and other mills. Postcards show the mills, canals, boarding houses and workers, many of them immigrants from Ireland, French Canada, Portugal, Poland, Greece and elsewhere. The Lawrence textile strike of 1912 was photographed. Real photos of mills and mill workers are collected by labor and industrial historians.
Fishing and whaling
Gloucester was the great fishing port of New England, with its schooner fleet, wharves and fish-drying flakes. New Bedford, once the whaling capital, still had whaling ships in the early twentieth century, and cards of whalers and the waterfront are collected. Real photos of schooners, crews and the waterfront are popular with maritime collectors.
Cape Cod and the islands
Cape Cod's villages, windmills, lighthouses, saltworks, cranberry bogs and beaches appear on many cards, along with Provincetown's artists and fishermen. Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, with Oak Bluffs' gingerbread cottages, were popular summer destinations. Early real photos of village life and cranberry harvests are collected.
Trolleys and amusement parks
Massachusetts had a dense network of trolley lines, and trolley parks such as Norumbega Park and many smaller ones drew crowds. Revere Beach, among the first public beaches in the country, with its amusement rides and boardwalk, is a popular subject. Trolley real photos and amusement park cards are collected.
The Berkshires
In the western hills, the Berkshires had mill villages, farm towns and the grand summer cottages of Lenox and Stockbridge. Early cards of the cottages, resorts and village centers interest regional collectors.
Disasters
The Chelsea fire of 1908, the Salem fire of 1914 and the Boston molasses flood of 1919 were photographed and sold as postcards. Real photos of these disasters are historically significant.
Places and subjects to look for
- Boston: neighborhoods, the waterfront, street life and events.
- The mill cities: Lowell, Lawrence, Fall River, New Bedford and Holyoke.
- The North Shore: Gloucester, Rockport, Salem and Marblehead.
- Cape Cod and the islands: villages, bogs, lighthouses and summer colonies.
- Central Massachusetts: Worcester and the small town centers around it.
- The Berkshires: Pittsfield, Lenox, Stockbridge and the hill towns.
- The Connecticut River Valley: Springfield, Northampton and farm towns.
Colleges and schools
Massachusetts has many colleges, academies and preparatory schools, and their campuses appear on many cards. Major campus views are common, but real photos of student life and smaller schools are more interesting.
Real photos versus printed views
Massachusetts was printed more than almost any state, especially Boston and the historic sites of Lexington, Concord and Plymouth. Real photos of small towns, mills, fishing scenes, trolleys and disasters carry most of the value in a Massachusetts collection.
What is common
Printed views of Boston landmarks, Plymouth Rock, Concord and Lexington, college buildings and later chrome Cape Cod cards are plentiful.
Why village real photos still matter here
With so many printed cards in circulation, it is easy to assume every Massachusetts place was well photographed. In fact, many village centers, crossroads, small mill villages and neighborhoods were captured only by local photographers in short runs. Those real photos are what local historians and town collectors are still looking for, and they are often hiding among the common printed views in a large Massachusetts collection.
Questions about Massachusetts postcards
Are old Boston postcards valuable? Common printed views are modest; real photos of neighborhoods and events are more collectible.
Are Gloucester fishing postcards collectible? Yes, especially real photos of schooners and crews.
Are Massachusetts mill postcards worth anything? Real photos of mills and workers are collected.
Do you buy Massachusetts collections? Yes, complete collections from anywhere in the state, by mail.