Large Letter Postcards
High Camp, High Kitsch
Curt Otto Teich (1877 - 1974), who immigrated to the United States from Lobenstein, Germany, in 1896, founded the Curt Teich Company of Chicago, which operated from 1898 to 1978 as the world's largest printer of view and advertising postcards. These cards had a very distinctive and often surrealistic look. They certainly sold to the masses but stand up to careful inspection. There is clearly artistic, intellectual, and sociological content in these images --- note the baby chick/caddy who would "gladly be fried", the Rooster in Plus Fours, or the bizarre scale of the steer. Teich's work has inspired many contemporary parodies, seeking to capture the "Gee Whiz" nature of visiting an exotic place for the first time (and, the thrill of bragging about it to friends and relations..)
Example of a Teich Advertising Postcard
Example of a Teich View Postcard
Example of a contemporary parody
Between 1933 and 1958, the firm became world famous for linen-finish postcards spelling out the name of some famous place in large, three dimensional letters. Each letter was, in turn the framework for smaller artwork illustrating some facet of the subject. They always contained the phrase "Greetings From..." In the early 1980s, Bruce Springsteen issued an LP entitled Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. done in the Teich style.
All of Teich's work is collectible. I have simply focused on the Large Letter postcards. Click here to view another collector's passion -- the entire series of Teich postcards with outhouses as the theme...
The Curt Teich Postcard Archives are located in Wauconda, Illinois, near Chicago. Click Here for a complete list of all Curt Teich Large letter Postcards. Here, we present 148 of these cards for your delectation. We DO have one card for each of the 50 states plus Puerto Rico, and Washington DC. We also have several for Canada.
Click Here to download a screen saver that displays Large Letter Postcards.
Click on the State Icon
- Postcards from The Northeast
- Postcards from the Mid-Atlantic
- Postcards from the Old South
- Postcards from the Midwest
- Postcards from the Southwest
- Postcards from the West
Special Collections
STATE POSTCARDS
CITY POSTCARDS
POSTCARDS FROM PLACES VISITED BY KATRINA and RITA, the "Girls Gone Wild"
POSTCARDS FROM TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
POSTCARDS FROM MILITARY BASES
PLACES WITH UNUSUAL NAMES
Las Vegas Postcards (Courtesy of our friend Tony)
INTERNATIONAL POSTCARDS
Postcards from Old Route 66
Index of All Postcards in the Collection
This isn't by Teich, but it is a very famous "Postcard" -- this was sent by General Eisenhower to all the troops that were part of the Normandy Invasion ("D-Day"). John, one of our readers was so very kind to scan the card and its enclosed message. Thanks, John!
Ike's D-Day Message Was Delivered Inside a Postcard
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