His cards range from scenes of area rice harvesting, logging, hunting, courthouses, and churches, to the 1912 Gulf Refining Company docks in Port Arthur and the 1950s Dupont Sabine River Works Plant. Kelly’s collection, which includes early 1900s scenes of Port Arthur, Port Neches, Saratoga, Orange, Bateson, and Beaumont, has been featured in several public exhibits. Otherwise known as “The Golden Triangle,” the territory consists of Orange, Jefferson, and Hardin counties. Collectors pay anywhere from 50 cents to $30 or more apiece for cards to fit their special collection themes, including bridges, dams, depots, farm implements, courthouses, and hurricane aftermaths.ĭon Kelly, executive director of the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission in Port Arthur, has about 1,000 postcards depicting scenes from a tri-county area for which his office is responsible.
TEXAS POSTCARD FULL
Moreover, postcards are available virtually to anyone who cares to comb through tabletops full of cards at book and paper shows and flea markets. Sometimes, a picture postcard is the only available visual source of historic information. But, while early postcards offer a bit of nostalgia, they also are historical records of places, events, buildings, and the evolution of our culture. Originally serving a need to communicate, old postcards have long been novelty items sought by collectors and hobbyists. The golden age of picture postcards, which peaked around 1915, became a firmly established tradition that continues today. Postal Service authorized the use of picture postcards in 1898, and well before the days of the long-distance telephone call, Americans were sending millions of cards to friends and family members across the country. By Phil Parisi, Assistant Editor, The Medallion, July 1990
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