Written Locally - The Catskills in Vintage Postcards

By Bradley Towle

CATSKILLS REGION — The Catskills in Vintage Postcards is a 1999 collection by historian Irwin Richman. Richman, a professor emeritus of American studies and history at Pennsylvania State University, had written about the region in other books, including Borscht Belt Bungalows: Memoirs of Catskill Summers, Catskill Hotels, and Hudson River: From New York City to Albany. The Catskills in Vintage Postcards joins his Postcard History Series (which includes Hudson River). Richman opens the book by making the argument that "the concept of domestic tourism" began in the Catskill Mountains. Turnpikes, railroads, and, of course, the Hudson River all facilitated access and travel to the picturesque and even daunting region. The first chapter of his collected postcards, "The Lordly Hudson: Gateway to the Catskills," explores the area from the vantage point of the river's relationship to the area, from postcards depicting scenic views and tourism to a rather macabre 1940s postcard of an electric chair from Sing Sing prison.

There are, of course, "The Great Resorts" like The Catskill Mountain House, The Laurel House, and The Mountain House at Lake Mohonk, all depicted on postcards with dramatic photographs. There are the elaborate mid-20th Century Borscht Belt retreats like Grossinger’s and The Concord. Chapter Three, "Life in The Rearview Mirror: Looking for The Good Old Days," explores the use of postcards to tap into nostalgia for the slower, seemingly simpler times that the Catskills could offer. Bucolic images of horse-drawn carriages, farmers with hay, covered bridges, and spartan shacks romanticize what are more likely images of just how hard life in the mountains could be. Irwin includes the legend of Rip Van Winkle in this chapter. Images of the character and the road (Route 23), bridge, and lookout point utilizing the famous name made Irwin's cut—postcards that imply a sleepy legend for a relaxing retreat.

Richman uses The Catskills in Vintage Postcards as not only a visual story of the region as a destination but also as a glimpse of how the area's tourism shaped how The Catskills saw itself, reflected in its own depiction of its wonders in roughly a century of postcards.

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