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  • June 17, 2025 13:13
June 17, 2025 13:13
I regularly come across postcards that show a street, nothing special, a few houses and nothing else. Of course, in today's time, a beautiful picture from times gone by, but what was it like then? Was a street simply photographed? Did someone pay for it? Or was it pure randomness?

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  • June 17, 2025 16:15
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June 17, 2025 16:15
Baarnsche-Ansichten Perhaps these kinds of pictures were taken by bread photographers and later sold to the residents in the street in question.
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  • June 20, 2025 09:52
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June 20, 2025 09:52
Baarnsche-Ansichten
It's not entirely clear to me which period you mean exactly, but I can probably say something about it in general terms.

Before World War II, an incredible number of letters and postcards were sent. For almost everyone, the mail was the most important means of communication. Almost no one owned a telephone or a car.
Often, when a new neighborhood was built, a local shopkeeper would have photographs taken to have postcards made. Residents could then send a postcard to family, friends, and acquaintances showing where they lived.

[Edit]
After WWII there was a huge housing shortage until the 1960s. People were happy and proud when they got a new home. Back then it was even more important to send a postcard showing the street your new home was in.



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  • June 24, 2025 09:14
June 24, 2025 09:14
Thanks for the responses!
You are indeed saying what I already suspected, namely a picture of a street (neighborhood) that seems meaningless at first glance, but of course can be sent as a kind of moving notice.
It was noticeable that many postcards showing a house or a few houses in a street were relatively common, but did not necessarily have great (also knowing the history) value. Like the attached one I mean. Of this entire district I know of only 1 other postcard, but that one is more focused on the retirement homes that are there.

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