Collections

The Stubbins collection is comprised mostly of postcards of U.S. county courthouses and a variety of other municipal buildings such as town halls, city halls, etc. The postcards represent every state except for North Carolina. Many of the buildings depicted were constructed in the late 19th and early 20th century, some of which no longer exist. The collection documents the variety of architectural styles from this period. The postcards also illustrate the various state government structures. Many states have at least two tiers of local government, counties and municipalities (village, town, city, and borough), but some have unique governing structures. For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia has 95 counties and 38 independent cities. In most states, cities are part of the county government. The collection includes cards from both American and European publishers, as well as a number of rare "real photo" postcards which are photographic images printed on postcard paper stock. A portion of the postcards in the collection have postmarks that range in date from 1904-1957.