Indianapolis In Vintage Postcards (IN) (Postcard History Series) [Paperback]

W. C. Madden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2003

In the late 1800s, postcards of Indianapolis began appearing in mailboxes throughout the country. Since that time, the many prominent monuments, buildings, and parks of the Hoosier capital have been featured on countless cards. Using an impressive collection of these images, author W.C. Madden takes the reader on an historic journey through Indianapolis from 1890 to 1950, providing a visual history of the development of the city. Indianapolis experienced great growth during the first half of the 20th century, which gave rise to innovative art and architectural structures, many that serve as the subject of postcards featured here. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Indiana World War Memorial, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Union Station, and Claypool Hotel, to name a few, are all highlighted.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mr. Madden, an author and historian, has written extensively on Indiana history and baseball. One of his many publications is Baseball in Indianapolis, published by Arcadia Publishing in 2003.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (March 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738523216
• ISBN-13: 978-0738523217
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,231,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Had great potential but....., January 2, 2005

By 

N. Kobrowski (Westfield, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indianapolis In Vintage Postcards (IN) (Postcard History Series) (Paperback)

I bought this book for a gift at Christmas for my husband. Both he and I collect postcards of Indiana. While there is no denying the postcards are great, the author unfortunately did not do his research and put together a book of half baked answers.

The author admits when he took on the project, he thought it was going to take a lot of time but due to a postcard club in Indy, he was able to cut that time down, and apparently cut the time he should have used for researching the location and if the places still exist.

Additionally, as an academic researcher, I am horrified by the lack of documentation of where the information came from. THere is a list in the back of the book, but it doesnt say on each page where the postcards came from or where the info about the location in the card came from. That is just inexcuseable.

If you are just looking for pretty cards of Indianapolis gone by, this is a good book. If you want more substance behind where it was, if it still exists, etc-- look elsewhere.