The linen postcard era saw one particularly popular design. Made for travelers to brag about the destinations they made it to on long summer road trips in America, large letter postcards showed the biggest, flashiest, most fun side of any city.

These large letter postcards, now often associated with the 1930’s through 1950’s eras that the postcards were most popular in, had their time in the spotlight in the U.S. They usually started with the words “Greetings From,” followed by large letters or numbers with pictures of the city inside. These cards had bright, saturated colors as a result of the new kinds of inks on the market at the time. They also had a soft focus; the uneven surfaces of linen postcards did not lend themselves to sharp edges. All of this added to a bright, romanticized view of whatever destination the postcard advertised.

These postcards are quite popular among collectors. Some collect them form their own state, or try to collect one from every state.

Today, any sort of large letter image invokes an image of vintage, roadside America. It’s part of their retro charm that makes large letter design so easily recognizable.

Do you collect large letter postcards? Which ones are your favorites?

Want some large letter postcards of your own? You can go here.