Talk Slated July 24––

Postcards Of Bygone Newtown On Display At Library

By Dottie Evans

Residents might want to spend an hour or so in the cool comfort of the Cyrenius Booth Library examining the postcard collection of Newtown native James Crick.

The postcards, many dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, are now on display in three glass exhibit cases near the second floor circulation desk.

The collection was amassed by Mr Crick with the help of his wife Joan. Many are penny postals that were popular around the turn of the 20th Century and provided ways for families to send news and pictures home when they were traveling.

Some postals were simply collected and traded without ever being sent in the mail.

Mr Crick’s collection covers the topical territory from Main Street scenes to early Newtown graduations, to familiar old Main Street homes, and the not-so-familiar treeless landscapes that existed when the town was mainly farmland.

The postcard exhibit was organized by library collections curator Caroline Stokes, and it will remain on display throughout July until August 8.

A talk is scheduled at the library the evening of July 24, during which Mr Crick will tell some of the stories behind the postcards –– how he acquired the collection and what surprising connections resulted from reading the messages penned long ago by their senders.

Meanwhile, Newtown residents are encouraged to stop by and enjoy the postcard exhibit at their leisure.