New York City
New York City's skyline, bridges, harbor, elevated trains, streets and landmarks were printed in enormous numbers. Most printed views of Manhattan landmarks, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge are common. Real photos of neighborhoods, street life, storefronts, immigrant communities, events and businesses long gone are more interesting to collectors, as are cards of neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.
Coney Island
Coney Island's Luna Park, Dreamland and Steeplechase Park were famous amusement parks, and their towers, rides and lights appear on many cards. Dreamland burned in 1911. Early Coney Island cards, especially real photos and night views, are popular with amusement park collectors.
The Erie Canal
The Erie Canal and its successor, the Barge Canal, crossed the state from Albany to Buffalo. Canal boats, locks, lift bridges and canal towns such as Lockport, Little Falls, Syracuse and Rochester appear on cards. Real photos of canal boats and crews are collected.
The Adirondacks
The Adirondacks had great camps, hotels, guide boats, lumber camps and sanatoriums such as those at Saranac Lake. Real photos of guides, camps, logging and the hotels of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and the lakes region are popular.
The Catskills
The Catskill Mountain House, the Hotel Kaaterskill and many boarding houses drew visitors, and later the Borscht Belt resorts flourished. Early hotel views and real photos of boarding houses and villages are collected.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls was among the most heavily photographed places in the world. Most printed views are common; unusual real photos, ice bridge scenes and daredevil subjects are more interesting.
Upstate villages
New York's upstate villages, with their main streets, depots, creameries, hop farms, churches and schools, were photographed by local photographers. Real photos of these villages are what most New York town collectors seek, because many were photographed only a few times. See small-town postcards.
Places and subjects to look for
- New York City: neighborhoods, street life, storefronts and events.
- Coney Island: Luna Park, Dreamland and Steeplechase.
- The Erie Canal: locks, boats and canal towns.
- The Adirondacks: camps, guides, lumber and Saranac Lake.
- The Catskills: hotels, boarding houses and villages.
- The Finger Lakes: steamers, vineyards and lake towns.
- Western New York: Buffalo, Niagara Falls and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition.
- Long Island: villages, estates and early aviation.
The Pan-American Exposition
Buffalo's 1901 Pan-American Exposition, where President McKinley was shot, produced early souvenir cards collected by exposition specialists. See exposition postcards.
Real photos versus printed views
New York City, Niagara Falls and major resorts were printed in staggering quantities. Real photos of upstate villages, canal scenes, Adirondack life, farms and events carry most of the value in a New York collection.
What is common
Printed Manhattan skyline and landmark views, Niagara Falls, the Statue of Liberty and later chrome tourist cards are very common.
Why upstate cards are where the value is
Because New York City and Niagara Falls were printed so heavily, a large New York collection can look ordinary at first glance. But collectors of upstate villages, hop farms, canal towns and Adirondack camps are numerous and active, and real photos of those places were made in small numbers. They are often hidden among the common city and falls views.
Hops, dairy and farm country
Central New York was once the leading hop-growing region in the country, and real photos of hop yards, hop pickers and hop houses are distinctive. Dairy creameries, cheese factories, apple orchards and vineyards appear on cards from farm towns across the state.
Questions about New York postcards
Are old New York City postcards valuable? Common printed views are modest; real photos of neighborhoods and events are more collectible.
Are Coney Island postcards collectible? Yes, especially early real photos and night views of the parks.
Are Erie Canal postcards worth anything? Real photos of canal boats, locks and crews are collected.
Do you buy New York collections? Yes, complete collections from anywhere in the state, by mail.