T. Lindsay BakerPortrait of Route 66: Images from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives

I purchased two copies of this book for my elderly mother and an elderly cousin, both of whom traveled Route 66 frequently many years ago. They have really enjoyed the book. My cousin is making notes on the pages about her memories she made with her late husband. She's planning on giving the book to her daughter.

It was a gift and the recipient loved it.

A must have for Roadies around the world.

A great book with lots of in formation and photos.

Route 66 postcard history in detail

Curt Teich produced quality post cards and this book features many of them using sights and businesses along Route 66. The book itself is of very high quality paper and a pleasure to view and read.

My interest in this book is due more to the use of the Curt Teich Postcard Archives than the subject of Route 66. Curt Otto Teich (1877-1974) was a German immigrant who came to Chicago and was very successful. From its opening in 1898 through 1978, Curt Teich & Company produced postcards for businesses and attractions across the country. The records of this postcard production company, once the largest in America, originally wound up at the Lake County Forest Preserve District's Discovery Museum in Wauconda, Illinois. Now the collection is about to be transferred to the Newberry Library in Chicago. Some of the collection is available online in the Illinois Digital Archives.T. Lindsay Baker, a history professor at my place of employment (Tarleton State University), visited the Teich archives and researched in the production files for postcards along historic Route 66, the former U.S. highway that ran 2500 miles across eight states from Chicago to Los Angeles. Many of the production files included the original black-and-white photographs that were used to create the postcards.The book features 112 sites (organized geographically starting in Chicago) along Route 66, presented in double-page spreads. One side of the spread includes the black-and-white photo (often with notations on cropping and colors to use) along with the finished postcard (except in one case, where apparently a postcard was never made). The other side of each spread includes Baker's research about the business or attraction pictured and the production of the postcard. Baker also includes a brief description of what (if anything) was at that location in July 2014, when he and his wife took a road trip along the entire Route 66 looking for these sites.The only things I would have liked to see in the book are:- a small image of the text on the back of the postcard (always quite interesting), and- either an image of what was on the site in July 2014, or an address or GPS coordinates so one could look for oneself (on Google Maps Street View, for example).Nevertheless, this is an outstanding book and a great addition to Route 66 history.

I just finished this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in Route 66, heritage tourism, roadside culture, or postcards in general. Mr. Baker was meticulous in his research and filled this handsome volume with carefully selected cards, most of which are far and few between on the collector market. That is because they come directly from the extensive archive at the Curt Teich Company, which once supplied cards for thousands of businesses nationwide. While not all of the cards featured are directly on 66, they are all in Route 66 communities, and either on, or close to, the roue. This does not detract from the presentation, in my view. The choice of cards was the key, and thankfully it is not a display of common cards that most roadies have seen, or own. Another unique aspect is that each subject includes the original black and white photograph that the printed card was based on. Five stars!

Extremely interesting