An exhibit at the Pratt Museum exploring the history of Postcards and the stories they hold
What is your hope when you send off a postcard? For over 150 years, this seemingly ephemeral form of communication has run the gamut of uses, and has proved itself to be an indispensable form of community recordkeeping across the globe, giving us bite size glimpses into the past. As we live through the current COVID-19 crisis, we have an opportunity to save our stories of this unusual and trying time. Just as stories from events of the past have created snapshots of different eras for us, we are able to pass our stories through time for future generations. What might someone learn about your life if they read a collection of postcards you’ve written? As you explore this exhibit of postcards from the Pratt Museum permanent archives, think about how stories from the past inform us about lives lived. How might you explain this current time we’re living in with just a few short lines and a picture? End your exploration of the past by dropping a note for future generations in the Postcards from Unprecedented Times mailbox, and answer a question for years to come: What’s in a postcard?
Greetings from the Past: History in Postcards will be on display in the Pratt Museum Community Gallery through March 31, 2021.
