Roads on olds postcards
Roads on Vintage Postcards: A Journey Through Time
Old postcards featuring roads are fascinating historical snapshots of transportation evolution, early tourism, and engineering marvels from the 19th20th centuries. They captured the romance of travel before the digital age.
1. Types of Roads Featured
🚗 Early Automobile Roads
America’s Route 66 (1920s50s) with classic diners and motels
Europe’s first paved highways (Germany’s AVUS, Italy’s Autostrade)
🚂 Railway Wonders
Dramatic Alpine crossings like Switzerland’s Gotthard Railway
Russia’s TransSiberian Railway bridges (preRevolution cards)
🏔️ Mountain Passes
Italy’s Stelvio Pass with 60 hairpin turns
The historic Georgian Military Road through the Caucasus
🌿 Country Lanes
Rural paths with horse carts (French chemins vicinaux, German Feldwege)
Wooden bridges of Scandinavia and Scotland
2. Notable Postcard Publishers
📌 Michel (Germany) – 1920s automotive routes
📌 Sachs & Granberg (Russian Empire) – imperial postal roads
📌 Curt Teich & Co. (USA) – iconic Route 66 landscapes
3. Why Collectors Love Them
✔ Transport history – First paved roads, early gas stations
✔ Vanished landmarks – Demolished bridges, forgotten hotels
✔ Artistic value – Handtinted lithography, retro typography
4. Where to Find Them
🔎 Flea markets (Paris’ Marché aux Puces, Berlin’s Mauerpark)
🔎 Online auctions (eBay “Vintage travel postcards”)
🔎 Transport museums (Munich’s Deutsches Museum)
Iconic Examples
🛣️ «Appian Way, Rome» (Italy, 1905)
🚂 «TransSiberian Railway Bridge» (Russia, 1900)
⛽ «First Gas Station in Detroit» (USA, 1913)