The Capitol by Moonlight, 1946

Recently uncovered postcards from my aunt Hoohoo's trip to our nation's capital and Virginia in 1946. I love the nighttime moonlit view of the Capitol Building in D.C., above. I also like the artwork on these vintage postcards. Illustrations can really set a mood. The scene above, not long after the Second World War ended, shows a peacefulness over D.C. that certainly wasn't there during the war.

This is the cover to a folder containing eighteen attached postcards of Richmond, Virginia, also dating from 1946. They're all in perfect condition, sixty-four years later. The artwork, and the printing process, really adds to the softness and vintage appeal of these cards. I guess this package is meant to be sent in its entirety, as the address line and space for a stamp shows.

Just six of the images found inside, including a shrine to Edgar Allan Poe, bottom left. Technically they can't really be called postcards as the images are printed on both the front and back. They are attached nine to a side, and fold out like an accordion.

The back of the folder features this iconic postcard treatment, filling the destination's title font with images from the cards inside. This was done by hand of course, in 1946, but I'll never forget the first time I figured out how to do this by myself in Photoshop, lol. I was suddenly untethered from the technical person in the small design group I was working for, able to work out design treatments by myself on the Mac, instead of having to wait for someone else to render them. I realized pretty quickly that this was the program I was going to spend the rest of my life working in! And I have.