Civic Pride in a Lost America: Library Postcards
Public Libraries of Massachusetts
Cities B*
Barnstable (Sturgis Library)
According to the Bromley & Company postcard:
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Oldest library building in United States. Former parsonage of Rev. John Lathrop. Built in 1644 and enlarged in 1782 by Capt. William Sturgis, who gave it to the town of Barnstable.
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​More about the library on its history page.
Barre (Henry Wood's Library)
1886 library, now known as Woods Memorial Library. Renovated in 2001.
An Americhrome brand card. There is nothing 'chrome' about it. In fact, as it's an American product and has an RD 8679 plate code, I suspect it was printed by Curt Teich.
Belchertown (Clapp Memorial Library)
Built in 1887 from a 1882 bequest.
Still in use. The Library website shows an impressive Romanesque brick building: this room looks to be at its front. Its architect was H.F. Kilburn.
Newvochrome card, printed in Germany. A librarian's work is never done.
Bernardston (Cushman Library)
Built in 1863, the Italianate building is still in use.
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The Merrimack Post Card has no clues to its age. My best guess is 1960s.
Beverly
(L) American Art Postcard, not the Curt Teich product. Photo taken from an unusual vantage point.
(R) Unknown publisher. Mailed in 1922.
Built in 1913, from a Cass Gilbert plan. Renovated in 1993. Oddly, the Library's Beverly Farms Branch is located in a much older building.
Billerica (Bennett Public Library)
Built in 1880, it served the town 100 years exactly, replaced by the Billerica Public Library. The building (High Victorian, according to the Library, Gothic, according to me) is in the process of restoration, but is available to rent as a event location.
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The photo postcard was printed on DuPont Defender brand paper.
Blandford
Memorial of Edgar Sheffield Porter, according to The Free Public Libraries of Massachusetts.
Possibly still in use.
(L) Part of W.J. Peebles' Series: entire back. I am not 100% convinced that this isn't a reprint.
(R) Poly-chrome card from Springfield News, mailed in 1908.
Boxford
The Library's web site lacks history, but a photo shows what might be this building, sans frippery, plus a red brick addition.
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Surprisingly, this is an E.C. Kropp postcard. I have never seen a self-framed postcard by that firm before. It was mailed in 1912.
Boylston (Sawyer Memorial Library)
Tudor/Stone masonry.
River rock, English architecture, and a slight touch of Romanesque combine to yield a pleasing structure.
Although this is an early card, electric street lights are evident in the photo. Logical, since the Municipal Light Building was its neighbor.
New building rejected. Maybe this is a case where a library is too beautiful.
Braintree (Thayer Library)
1874 building which looks about 40 years more modern. Now serves as the town water department.
Replaced in 1953: that unattractive building was demolished in 1997 for the third building.
The local publisher, A. Torrey, had the card printed in Germany.
Bridgewater
Caption misspelled.
This building is still standing, according to a 2012 Google street view. However, it's not the building seen on the Library's web site.
The stonework over the Eastlake-influenced Romanesque entryway states 'A Memorial.' Of what, I'm uncertain, but it might be the Civil War.
Brimfield (Daniel Lincoln Memorial Library)
(L) Early photo postcard by a photographer named Brown. It bears a pencil date of July 16, 1908, and was never mailed.
(R) Springfield News Co's. Poly-Chrome tinted postcard, mailed in 1912. Likely to have been printed for the American News Company.
Brockton
Predates the Carnegie building. Serves as the City Clerk's office, who must rattle around in this magnificent building like a dropped pill on a pharmacy floor. According to Wikipedia, its architect was Wesley Lyng Minor, and it was built between 1892 and 1894.
(L) Mailed in 1904 to Pomona. California as part of a postcard exchange.
To avoid neck strain:
Mrs. W. L. Wrigly
162 Highland St.
Brockton, Mass.
(R) Unattributed postcard in beautiful condition for its style and age.
Brookfield (Merrick Public Library)
Impressive red sandstone building: just short of Romanesque in its design. Still in use.
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(L) Valentine & Sons' Publishing postcard, never mailed.
(R) Albertype Postcard, mailed in 1946.
Brookline
Brookline's first public library was built in 1869 (see photo, top right) and received an addition shown on this postcard. I don't have a date for the A. Eagan postcard, and its postmark is illegible, but its divided back dates it to 1907 or later.
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The Italianate/Neoclassical building was demolished in 1910 for the next iteration.
This postcard was an ALA souvenir from May, 1914, touting the Snead Standard Stack. Its manufacturer was Snead and Company Iron Works of Jersey City, NJ, according to the 'Descriptive Catalog of the American Library Association Exhibit of Labor-Saving Devices.' NYPL gives a nifty picture of a Snead Standard Stack.
The Library has a very multi-culturally friendly site and one of the most detailed histories I've ever seen.
Other salient points include that the 1910 building is the second library; its first renovation was in 1970; and the current renovation occurred in 2003.