Was this heaven? : a self-portrait of Iowa on early postcards : a selection of postcards from the David A. Wilson collection / Lyell D. Henry, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Henry, Lyell D., 1935-

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Series:

Bur oak original

A Bur oak original

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Postcards.

Iowa--Social life and customs--Pictorial works.

Iowa.

Manners and customs.

Iowa--Pictorial works.

Postcards--Iowa.

Genre:

Pictorial works.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

ix, 255 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Place of Publication:

Iowa City : University of Iowa Press, [1995]

Summary:

Was This Heaven? provides detailed depictions of homes and clothing and hairstyles, of celebrations and ceremonies, of church, school, and social activities, of farm animals and city streets, of the multitudinous ways of living full and satisfying lives. Lyell Henry wisely gives priority to people over place, shortchanging public buildings in favor of cards that cast a more direct light on early Iowans' lives and minds. Last spring's flood, the Christmas tree in the parlor, high school graduation, the annual family picnic, the whistle-stop visit of President Taft, and true-life encounters with gigantic hogs and outsize ears of corn all combine to form a pleasantly rich visual record of the mental and physical worlds of the many Iowans featured. These postcards convey images of people who found great joy in their daily lives. With the publication of Was This Heaven? Iowans at the end of the twentieth century can look back across the decades and recapture that same joy in these fresh and effervescent images.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page [251]) and index.

Local Notes:

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy has dustjacket retained.

ISBN:

0877455201

OCLC:

32429238