Edward Mitchell Postcard Company
Archive of Painted Postcard Proofs, 1910s-20s
Over-painted, reworked, and collaged silver prints (71)
Various sizes; from approximately 2 x 3 to 9 x 12 inches
With publisher's credit and manuscript notations to mount verso.
With publisher's credit and manuscript notations to mount verso.
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A rich and graphically-compelling archive of photographic proofs created by the Edward Mitchell Company, a prolific San Francisco-based publisher, during the early 20th-century. Included are images of California civil and...
A rich and graphically-compelling archive of photographic proofs created by the Edward Mitchell Company, a prolific San Francisco-based publisher, during the early 20th-century. Included are images of California civil and commercial buildings, parks, hotels, mining scenes, railways and train stations, roadways, ships and beachfronts, and other scenic views and landmarks throughout the state.
The photographs in the collection have been meticulously reworked into heightened versions of themselves so that, when reproduced as photo-lithographic postcards, they would appear as they did before these numerous embellishments (as small details would be lost in reproduction). Clouds and waves have been airbrushed into the sky and sea. Tiny cars have been drawn or collaged onto sprawling roadsides, reflecting the bourgeoning auto industry of the time. Streets and buildings overpainted. Night skies bear painted moons. Most of the photographs have painted captions and many have pencil notations on the verso, some of which further tell the story of the production process, such as one that notes the cost of “$3.00 for retouching.”
The photographs in the collection have been meticulously reworked into heightened versions of themselves so that, when reproduced as photo-lithographic postcards, they would appear as they did before these numerous embellishments (as small details would be lost in reproduction). Clouds and waves have been airbrushed into the sky and sea. Tiny cars have been drawn or collaged onto sprawling roadsides, reflecting the bourgeoning auto industry of the time. Streets and buildings overpainted. Night skies bear painted moons. Most of the photographs have painted captions and many have pencil notations on the verso, some of which further tell the story of the production process, such as one that notes the cost of “$3.00 for retouching.”