You are probably quite familiar with souvenir
folders. They are almost always obtained during vacation trips to places you
have never been to before. These ubiquitous folders can be found in almost any
shop where a tourist might go. Although mailable they are mostly saved and taken
home. They are then put away and forgotten about until one day you come across
them once again. You might take a look at them but chances are you will just put
them away again.
They almost always contain images of real postcards that were made
by that publisher in earlier years. They were accordion folded with pictures on
both sides. These folders have been produced almost from the very start of the
postcard era.
I have hesitated in putting these items on this site because there
is really no way to fully display them without damaging them using nothing but a
scanner. You could probably use a camera for the job but this is one toy I have
yet to purchase. Also I do not believe there is any great interest in these
folders, but it is really necessary for me to show them in order to display the
complete gamut of the postcard hobby. What I have decided to do is, basically,
to show the front and (in most cases) back of the folder and then display
one or two scans of the images inside. I will list the publisher when it is
available.
VERY EARLY SOUVENIR FOLDER: The first item is probably one of the first attempts at producing a Souvenir Folder. The top flap is secured beneath the red seal. The entire contents are shown.
ZOO FOLDERS: The zoo and other publishers have put out many different types of mailable folders. Here are 8 examples.
Front
Back
2 of 26 Images
Published by the Powell Bros. for the Zoo. There are 13 images of the zoo on one side and 13 images of the city on the other
Front
Back
1 of 29 Images
This booklet put out by the Radio Photo Finishing Co. is obviously a remake of the 1st folder. The difference is that this on opens like a book, it is hinged on the left side and contains 29 images, 14 of the Zoo and the remainder views of the city. See further below for yet a third version.
Front
Back
2 of 13 Images
Published by the Wayne Paper Box & Printing Corporation
Front
Back
2 of 7 Images
Published by The Cincinnati Zoo
Back
Front
2 of 4 Images
Published by The Cincinnati Zoo
Front
2 of 4 Images
Published by The Cincinnati Zoo
Published by the Cincinnati Zoo
Front
Back
Complete set of
pictures
Published by the Cincinnati Zoo.
Front
Back
2 of 26 Images
Published by The Powell Brothers for the Zoo. There are 13 images of the zoo on one side and 13 images of the city on the other. A later version of the 1st folder above.
MISCELLANEOUS FOLDERS: The next six folders are completely different and are produced for different reasons.
Published by the International News Service this folder shows 11 images of the 1937 flood with descriptions for each one. All are of the Cincinnati area except one for Portsmouth and one for Wheeling, West Virginia
This folder was published by the Marx Co. on Madison Road in Covington, Kentucky of a tornado that struck the area on July 7, 1915. With the exception of the two images above the remainder shows the devastation that hit the Northern Kentucky area.
TO SEE MORE SOUVENIR
FOLDERS
