An Iowa City Turn-Of-The-Century Christmas.

At the turn-of-the-century in Iowa City, penny postcards were the very best way to send holiday greetings to friends ‘cross town or ‘cross the country. Here are a few postcards in Our Iowa Heritage penny postcard collection that feature Christmas themes. Enjoy!

(P-0266) Merry Christmas from Close Hall on the SUI Red Brick Campus.

(P-0194) Here’s a 1909 Penny Postcard Christmas Greeting from “The Kid” – a care-free student at SUI:  “Am alive and able to use as much bad language as ever. How are you and the rest of the bunch out that way (in Solon). Now get a wiggle on you this trip or I’ll have to come and see you and you can guess what that means.”

(P-0196) A Christmas Greeting To The Folks Back Home, but just a bit late – postmarked January 4, 1923 in Iowa Citymaybe the student was too busy studying during the holidays!

(P-0277) ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – postmarked in Iowa City on December 20, 1910.

(P-0253) Christmas 1908 greetings to SUI Professor Benjamin Shambaugh and family.

Click here to visit Our Christmastime short story index page…

Check out our salute to Thomas Nast – America’s great turn-of-the-century political cartoonist who created America’s first illustrations of Santa Claus. Here we feature eighteen Thomas Nast’s Christmas drawings – all illustrations originally published in Harper’s Weekly and then again collectively in Thomas Nast’s Christmas Drawings for the Human Race, first published by Harper Brothers in 1890.


December 20, 1910 – ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas Penny Postcard – postmarked in Iowa City.

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