Postcard History Series

Name: Bridgeport
Brand: Andrew Pehanick
SKU: 9780738562513
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

The American Postcard history series books explores the history of an area through vintage postcards. Go fishing in the Salton Sea, tour the iconic Hollywood Studios during their golden age, and then take one of New York City’s subways back in time. From early Denver to the Grand Canyon National Park, these postcard books send greetings from the past to eager readers with a passion for history. [View all Postcard History Series books]

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Westport and Weston in Vintage Postcards

Woodmont on the Sound

Savin Rock Amusement Park

Fairfield and Southport in Vintage Postcards

$24.99

Route 7, The Road North:

$24.99

Victorian Hartford Revisited

$24.99

Bridgeport

9780738562513

$24.99

Bridgeport: 1900-1960 presents a fascinating look into the history of Bridgeport through vintage postcards from the city's formative years. These vintage postcards depict the change and expansion in Bridgeport during the 20th century, from the growth of the University of Bridgeport from a small junior college into a major university to the changes in transportation from the horse and buggy to early automobiles and trolley cars. Bridgeport's waterfront played an important role in the development of the city, drawing visitors and wealthy residents who built homes along the shore. Following the two world wars, the city saw a large population increase, and a building boom soon followed. Factories and homes were built, retail stores moved in, and recreational options increased to serve the needs of the thousands of people who came to Bridgeport seeking employment.

Victorian Hartford

9780738537139

$24.99

From workers' housing to the grand homes of industrialists, prosperous Hartford experienced an explosion of Victorian building that turned this capital city into a rich mixture of culture, beauty, and business. The capital of the insurance industry, Hartford was also home to the first public art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum; the first municipal rose garden, Elizabeth Park; and colossal factories that produced Colt firearms, typewriters, sewing machines, and even the first automobiles. Victorian Hartford showcases the city's great architecture through historic images, some of which are the only evidence of the city's former grandeur, and provides glimpses into a world long gone.

Norwich

9780738564678

$24.99

Located at the confluence of the Yantic, Shetucket, and Thames Rivers, Norwich is known as the "Rose of New England." As a major seaport, it grew into a powerful manufacturing city due to its location on power-producing rivers. Yankee industrialists produced fine cotton, leather, brass, thermoses, and firearms. Self-sustaining villages developed around factories such as the Ponemah Mill, the Yantic Woolen Mill, and the Falls Mill. Vintage postcards from the 19th and 20th centuries depict the many sides of Norwich through images of its ways of life, places of worship, and social organizations.

Mystic

9781467125956

$24.99

On the banks of the Mystic River, the Connecticut community of Mystic has a maritime history that stretches back beyond the founding of the nation. Starting as a Native American settlement, the area switched hands--first to the Dutch, then to the English--before finally becoming a part of the United States after the Revolutionary War. Mystic's location made it an ideal port for coastal commerce. As the nation grew, so did Mystic, with the village using its unique location to serve both the coastal fishing industry and the US Navy. The Mystic drawbridge serves as a reminder of the community's maritime heritage. In its current state, Mystic serves as both a cradle to some of Connecticut's oldest families and a tourist attraction for those wanting to sample vintage New England life.

Old Saybrook

9780738572772

$24.99

This fascinating history of Old Saybrook, CT showcases more than two hundred of the best vintage postcards available.

Named Saybrook after two early patentees, Lord Saye and Sele and Lord Brook, the small community of Old Saybrook has been shaped by its notable history and distinct geographical location at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Deeply rooted in farming and fishing, the town became a summer resort and tourist destination by the 1900s. Through the years, Old Saybrook's residents have made important contributions in government, literature, film, architecture, education, science, and technology.

New London

9781467123754

$24.99

Founded in 1646 and known as "the Whaling City," New London has played an important role in American history since Colonial days. Its natural harbor at the mouth of the Thames River connects the city to the sea. Around the turn of the 20th century, New London flourished as the hub of southeastern Connecticut. With roots as one of the main ports for the whaling industry, the city became home to a wealthy summer resort called the Pequot Colony. Over the years, dramatic changes occurred as a result of natural disasters, such as the 1938 hurricane, and man-made changes, such as the 1960s redevelopment project. Historical postcards offer a glimpse into bustling city life during this exciting time.

Westport and Weston in Vintage Postcards

9780738590424

$24.99

This fascinating collection of picture postcards documents the history of Westport and Weston, from the late 1800s through the 1950s.

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this ""golden age"" can today be considered works of art. Westport, Connecticut, a tourist mecca with an artistic reputation, has been captured on numerous postcards featuring scenes of the New England town's shore, its restaurants and inns, and its stately homes and gardens. The neighboring town of Weston, where the beauty of the surroundings is paramount, featured captivating nature scenes. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating new history of Westport and Weston, Connecticut, showcases more than two hundred of the best vintage postcards dating from the late 1800s to the 1950s.

Waterbury

9780738512983

$24.99

For the residents of the Naugatuck Valley, in the days before shopping malls and highways, downtown Waterbury was the place to go.

The clock tower, the horse fountain, the Palace Theater, the curved building on Grand and Meadow Streets, abandoned mills, buried rivers, railroads to nowhere-these are some of the familiar and not-so-familiar landmarks of Waterbury. Who built them and why? Waterbury: 1890-1930 is a step back to a time when Waterbury was a major industrial center. Expanding factories were at peak production, churning out enormous quantities of brass products, and the city was struggling to keep pace with its own population explosion.

Milford

9780738544632

$24.99

With 17 miles of beaches on Long Island Sound and a picturesque town center, Milford has always been the natural place to escape the heat of large cities and enjoy cool summer breezes, historic sites, boating, bathing, fishing, and adventure. Within Milford, postcards reveal various attractions, including Charles Island (where Captain Kidd reportedly hid his treasure) and the Oak Grove dance casino at Myrtle Beach. Real-photo postcards capture historic events, such as the 1915 town hall fire and the celebration of the 275th anniversary of Milford's 1639 birth. This volume lets readers step back in time and see Milford during a golden age.

Woodmont on the Sound

9780738549682

$24.99

Woodmont on the Sound inhabits a small corner of the world: one square mile with a mile and a half of shoreline on Long Island Sound. It is a borough within the city of Milford, and at the beginning of the 20th century it became a popular summer resort, as trolleys ran through the area from New Haven to Bridgeport. Stately wooden hotels, inns, and cottages welcomed guests for days, weeks, or the entire summer season. Woodmont was a destination for those seeking sun, swimming, boating, and fishing during the hot summer months. Before electricity, telephones, and automobiles, postcards were a fun and vital communication between Woodmont residents and the outside world.

Stratford

9780738535791

$24.99

What was Stratford like early in the last century? Postcards recorded important scenes and activities. Local shops often made up their own cards and folders, which residents collected and shared with friends and relatives. This postcard history of Stratford draws on such cards to show commercial and recreational life in the town's neighborhoods and along its shore. Cards depicting the early aviation industry and little-known 1912 army maneuvers in Stratford are included here. Informative captions expand on these images with stories about the town and its people.

Bridgeport

9780738537665

$24.99

The golden age of postcards, which took place between 1900 and 1940, was also the golden age of Bridgeport. Local and national publishers printed scenes of the city's beautiful and renowned parks, magnificent mansions, palatial theaters, and sprawling factories, as well as its busy streets and unique architecture. These cards carried images of Bridgeport near and far. Recipients of these mementos could imagine building automobiles at the Locomobile factory, dining at the Amazon Caf©, staying at the Stratfield Hotel, riding the carousel at the Steeplechase Island amusement park, shopping at Howlands, admiring the Wheeler Mansion, attending mass at the South Congregational Church, or watching the activity at the winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Bridgeport takes the modern reader on a journey into the past through nearly two hundred of these vintage postcard images.

Savin Rock Amusement Park

9780738544762

$24.99

Savin Rock Amusement Park began to grow in the 1870s when George Kelsey constructed a pier to extend ferry service between the opposite coastlines of New Haven Harbor. This opened the door for further, more sophisticated

development of amusement attractions that drew fun seeking patrons from throughout southern New England. The park thrived until the combination of affordable personal transportation and urban redevelopment forced its demise in the 1960s. Today Savin Rock is a quieter spot fi lled with beachside apartments, a shopping plaza, and a more tranquil grassy park jutting into the harbor. Only a few of the original restaurants remain, changed somewhat from their earlier days but still holding tight to the memories of a different time. Savin Rock Amusement Park contains postcards from the private collection of Ronald P. Guerrera. As an antiques dealer in Waterbury, Guerrera compiled one of the largest and most picturesque collections of postcard memorabilia in Connecticut.

Durham

9780738573267

$24.99

Durham: 1900-1950 presents a unique view into the history of Durham through vintage postcards. A small town of approximately 7,000 people, Durham is located in central Connecticut between New Haven and Hartford. A quintessential New England town, Durham was settled in 1699 and has a vast and exceptional history. During the postcard era, images of historic homes, celebrations, businesses, and other areas of interest in town were sent all across the state and country and brought a little piece of Durham to the recipient. These snapshots of town history illustrate the many changes and transitions that have made Durham what it is today.

Roton Point

9780738574387

$24.99

From the 1870s through 1941, Roton Point Park was one of the preeminent attractions along the shores of Long Island Sound. From its shady picnic grove overlooking the water to its sandy beaches, hotel, dance floor, carousel, roller coaster, and midway rides, Roton Point attracted thousands of visitors each season. Damage from the 1938 hurricane and the start of World War II led to the park's closing in 1941, and Roton Point was divided into two private beach clubs and a public beach. Some of the old buildings remain, including the bathhouse, hotel, and gazebo at Roton Point, and the roller-coaster entry at Bayley Beach.

Ridgefield

9780738511726

$24.99

Ridgefield has long been a destination-for tourists seeking a picturesque country village, for city dwellers looking for a weekend and summer retreat, and for immigrants in search of a new life. In the first half of the twentieth century, a period that corresponded to the heyday of the picture postcard, hundreds of views were published, depicting the beautiful Main Street, the many inns and resorts, the mansions, estates, village shops, churches, and scenic hills and lakes. Ridgefield: 1900-1950 offers more than two hundred of these glimpses of a bygone time of affluence and change-what one historian has called Ridgefield's golden era.

Fairfield and Southport in Vintage Postcards

9780738504377

$24.99

Fairfield, including its village of Southport, is steeped in tradition and is rich in history. Many people who call this coastal Connecticut community home already know that Fairfield was founded in 1639 by Roger Ludlow and was visited in 1789 by Pres. George Washington, who actually spent the night at the Sun Tavern. However, do they also know the history of Pulpit Rock or for that matter, could they locate it? What about the granite planter at the junction of Main Street, Center Street, and Harbor Road--do they know the story behind that? Those residents who "remember Fairfield when . . .," as well as those with a desire to learn more about "Fairfield when . . .," will be fascinated by Fairfield and Southport.

Route 7, The Road North:

9780738502564

$24.99

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this "golden age" can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating new history of Route 7 from Norwalk to Canaan,
Connecticut, showcases more than two hundred of the best vintage postcards available.

Victorian Hartford Revisited

9780738549989

$24.99

The gilded city of Hartford triumphantly returns in this volume, Victorian Hartford Revisited, a compilation of many never before published images of Victorian splendor and incredible architecture. The social, economic, cultural, and architectural center of the state went through unparalleled growth after the Civil War. Demand for new technology made Hartford not only the political capital but the epicenter of the Industrial Revolution in the region. Tremendous wealth accumulated and materialized in the form of extensive estates, historic parks, magnificent schools, churches, public buildings, grand hotels, and a multitude of immigrant housing. This once Colonial port city along the Connecticut River rose to epitomize America's Victorian age, and it is captured within these impressive pages.