Towanda

I have long collected Towanda on postcards. The first postcard that I believe was published is credited to the Towanda Businessman’s Association and was undoubtedly like a Chamber of Commerce postcard used as a promo. The golden age of postcards is well represented with the main publishers being Towanda business establishments such as Boyle’s Book Store, H.L. Holcombe, Rubrights and Barney Loewus. Among them, Boyle’s Book Store appears to be the most prolific and probably includes postcards credited only to the national manufacturer such as A.C. Bosselman or Paul C. Koeber.

For all the postcards produced in the divided back and white border eras, Towanda fared far less well in the linen era. The David Wilmot Hotel exists on a linen postcard; the other examples seen being generic postcards where major publishers offered stock designs for insertion of any town’s name in a given spot or on a pennant. Often times they were humor oriented.

Black and white printed postcards produced mainly in the period 1945-1955 exist from publishers such as Whitman’s Phototypes, B.G. Williams, Artvue, Dexter Silvercraft, Wayne Paperbox and Merrimack. While Whitman and Williams are Bradford County publishers that produced and marketed their own postcards, the others are national publisher/printers that produced postcards for local vendors often never identified. Chrome postcards, both regular size and continentals, are mostly not included beyond a commercial entry or two. A checklist for publishers such as Chambers, Joe Kast, Ad-Art-Photo and Pendor Natural Color is in the process of being compiled for listing as soon as possible.

Real photo entries run the gamut from older publishers such as Ferris to more modern postcards by Nelson Caulkins and Frost Studio. A number are also unidentified with no publisher or ownership imprint found on the postcard. I have not included postcards labeled Towanda that are from up and down the Susquehanna in such places as Sheshequin, Wysox, Rummersfield and French Azilum.

While the checklist is a good start for Towanda postcards, it is probably far from complete. Please consider making additions to the checklist from postcards in your own collection. Please also advise corrections or numbers that do not match.

 My known checklist follows.

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