Colorful 'Greetings from' postcards reflected American innovation, idealism

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Greetings from Concord, New Hampshire.

Postcards emblazoned with “Greetings from” a state, city or tourist attraction advertise more than just the tiny scenes squeezed into 3D letters. They also reflect American innovation and idealism in both their production and popularity.

So-called large-letter postcards weren’t new when a German immigrant named Curt Teich began producing colorful linen-textured versions in the early 1930s, but he “was kind of a genius,” said Will Hansen, curator of Americana at the Newberry Library in Chicago, home to largest public collection of Teich postcards in the United States.

Just as Henry Ford revolutionized automobile production, Teich’s company perfected a system of mass producing large-letter postcards based on the idea that no town was too small to include.

“Nobody had really pulled together the idea that we should just do these for everywhere, and that’s kind of a quintessentially American thing,” Hansen said. “You take an idea, and you perfect it and you replicate it.”

The postcards’ popularity in the 1940s, 50s and 60s was fueled by an obsession with the automobile and the adventure of road travel. Teich and his imitators used saturated colors and simplified scenes to paint an enticing view of mid-20th-century America.

“They’re very optimistic-looking,” Hansen said. “That is sort of in tandem with how Americans are thinking about America at that time — that this is a country on an upward trajectory, that we have more money to spend, that we’re able to travel freely in ways we couldn’t before.”

Peter Meggison, a 76-year-old retired community college professor in Westport, Massachusetts, has 10,000 large-letter postcards in his private collection. His favorites include cards depicting his hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and one from Saugatuck, Michigan, that features a vibrant artist’s palette as the background.

“I think it’s the graphics that appeal to a lot of people, and they really do represent mid-20th century America, which is really quite nice,” he said.

For non-collectors, sending the postcards to friends and family was an inexpensive way to show off their travel. Today, travelers pose in front of murals around the country that mimic the vintage postcards and share photos on social media. Last year, the Newberry helped The Eagles create a background of gigantic postcard images at the Sphere in Las Vegas for the classic rock band’s performance of “Take it Easy.”

Says Hansen: “Even if folks in that crowd weren’t alive at the time when these were being distributed, everybody knows them."

Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

Peter Meggison, a 76-year-old retired community college professor, examines a "Greetings from Boston" postcard from his private collection of more than 10,000 large letter postcards, Monday, May 11, 2026, in Westport, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Peter Meggison, a 76-year-old retired community college professor, examines a "New Bedford" postcard from his private collection of more than 10,000 large letter postcards, Monday, May 11, 2026, in Westport, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Postcard collector Peter Meggison, holds up two examples of large letter postcards from places across America going from A to Z, Akron to Zanesville, Monday, May 11, 2026, in Westport, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court on Thursday issued a ruling that effectively removed the head of the country’s main opposition party by annulling a 2023 congress that elected him.

The move deals a serious blow to the beleaguered Republican People’s Party, or CHP, as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

An appeals court in Turkey’s capital Ankara declared the CHP congress that picked Ozgur Ozel as chairman to be null, ordering that he should be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Last year, a lower court ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Ozel’s election but Thursday’s decision overturned the original verdict.

The ruling led to frantic meetings at the CHP’s Ankara headquarters, further threatening the opposition’s chances of unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after more than two decades in office. Large crowds gathered outside the office block and police erected barriers.

The next presidential election is due in 2028 but Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, the CHP mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, has been imprisoned since March last year and is currently on trial on corruption charges.

The appeals court's decision suspends Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.

In comments to broadcaster TV100, Kilicdaroglu called for party members to remain calm. “Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally,” he said. The 77-year-old was removed following a 13-year tenure as leader, during which the CHP failed to win any national elections.

Ozel, meanwhile, attempted to rally supporters.

“I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden,” he posted on X following the ruling. “I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never surrender. I am promising you honor, dignity, courage and struggle!”

The CHP is expected to challenge Thursday’s ruling in the Supreme Court in the coming days.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, who oversaw several cases against the CHP in his former role as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, described the court’s ruling as one that “reinforces our citizens’ trust in democracy.”

Many observers have said that the legal cases against the CHP — mostly centered on corruption allegations — are politically motivated and aimed at neutralizing the party ahead of the next election. The government, however, insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, since 2003. His electoral record suffered a serious blow in 2019 when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure that many felt could successfully topple Erdogan.

FILE - Republican People's Party or (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel gestures to party members during his speech during a CHP convention, in Ankara, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ali Unal, File)

FILE - Turkish CHP party leader and Nation Alliance's presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, center, joins legislators elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as they attend their first parliamentary session, in Ankara, Turkey, June 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Unal, File)