Kaunas in Postcards (1899-1915)

Description

This catalogue is the first publication to bring together the oldest picture postcards of Kaunas, covering the period from the end of the 19th century to 1915, the beginning of the First World War. It launches a series of catalogues of Kaunas postcards published in different historical periods (1915-1918, 1918-1940 and later).
The publication shows 731 postcards (797 were found), the oldest known postcard being postmarked on 28 February 1899. The postcards are divided into chapters according to the chronological-publishing principle, with the years 1899, 1902 and the end of 1904 as starting points. 73 conditional publishers have been identified, some of whom are listed as unknown. It is estimated that 215 photographs of Kaunas and its surroundings were used to publish the postcards, most of them by the well-known city photographer Wacław Zatorski. The catalogue also includes reproductions of paintings and graphic works depicting various episodes of Kaunas' history, several portraits of individuals and maps bearing the name of the city of Kaunas; in total, 255 different subjects were used to design the postcards. The catalogue is based on the principle of coding, which uses codes to show the peculiarities of the image and address sides of the card.
We hope that the publication, as a reflection of a certain period, will become an additional source for the study of the culture and history of our region, and that the general public and every admirer of Kaunas will find it an intriguing way to get to know the city at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.