Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City's Temple Square, the Tabernacle, the capitol and Main Street appear on many cards. Printed views of the temple and Tabernacle are very common. Real photos of street life, businesses, streetcars and neighborhoods are more interesting.
Mining camps
Utah had rich silver, lead, copper and coal mines. Park City was a silver mining town before it became a ski resort. Bingham Canyon became the site of an enormous open-pit copper mine, and the town of Bingham crowded the narrow canyon below. The Tintic district around Eureka, and coal towns in Carbon County such as Helper, Castle Gate and Sunnyside, appear on real photo cards. The Scofield mine disaster of 1900 and the Castle Gate disaster of 1924 are historically significant.
Saltair and the lake
Saltair was a grand pavilion built over the Great Salt Lake in 1893, reached by train, where visitors floated in the salty water and danced in the ballroom. It burned in 1925 and was rebuilt. Postcards of Saltair, bathers floating and the lake are popular.
Railroads
The transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit in 1869, and later rail lines connected Utah's towns and mines. Ogden became a major railroad junction, and its Union Station appears on cards. Real photos of depots, trains and railroad towns are collected.
Farm towns
Mormon settlers laid out towns on a grid with wide streets, irrigation ditches and central meetinghouses. Real photos of small farm towns, tabernacles, main streets and celebrations such as Pioneer Day are collected by local and family historians.
The national parks
Zion became a national park in 1919 and Bryce Canyon in 1928, and the Union Pacific built lodges and promoted tours. Early cards of the parks, lodges and touring buses are collected. See national park postcards.
Places and subjects to look for
- Salt Lake City: street life, businesses and streetcars beyond Temple Square.
- Mining camps: Park City, Bingham, Eureka and Silver City.
- Carbon County: Helper, Castle Gate, Sunnyside and the coal camps.
- Ogden: Union Station and the railroad.
- The Great Salt Lake: Saltair and bathers.
- Southern Utah: Zion, Bryce, St. George and ranch towns.
- Farm towns throughout the valleys.
Immigrant mining communities
Utah's mines and smelters drew workers from Greece, Italy, Japan, Slovenia, Finland and elsewhere, and real photos of their communities, churches and celebrations are historically valuable.
Real photos versus printed views
Temple Square, Saltair and later national park chromes were printed in quantity. Real photos of mining camps, coal towns, farm towns and railroads carry most of the value in a Utah collection.
What is common
Printed Temple Square and Tabernacle views, the capitol and later chrome national park cards are plentiful.
Why mining camp cards are prized
Many of Utah's mining camps have vanished. Bingham was swallowed by the expanding open pit, Castle Gate was dismantled, and smaller camps were abandoned when the ore ran out. Real photos made by local photographers are often the only images of those towns as working communities, and families with roots there, along with collectors of Western mining history, seek them.
Disasters and events
Utah real photographers recorded mine disasters, floods and fires, along with Pioneer Day parades, county fairs and celebrations in small towns. Event real photos from identified Utah places are prized by collectors and local historians.
Questions about Utah postcards
Are Bingham Canyon postcards valuable? Real photos of the town and early mine are among the more collectible Utah cards.
Are Saltair postcards collectible? Yes, especially early views of the pavilion and bathers.
Are Utah coal camp postcards worth anything? Real photos of Carbon County camps and miners are collected.
Do you buy collections with Utah cards? Yes, complete collections, by mail.