POSTCARD VIEWS OF COURTHOUSE

POSTCARD VIEWS OF COURTHOUSE

Coweta County Courthous

The Coweta County Courthouse has been a favorite scene for photographers over the years, and it has appeared on a number of postcards. James D. Ferguson shares these scenes from two early postcards, along with some information on postcard dating. At top is a "linen" card, produced in color, which would have been made in the period 1930 to 1945. Ferguson said the linen texture of such cards was made by using linen in the paper producing rolls. The other scene is from a "Private Mailing Card," which were generally in use from 1898 to about 1901. This card has printed on the address side: "Private Mailing Card, Authorized by Act of Congress May 19, 1898." Its postmark is from Newnan about 1907, and it was sent to Huntsville, Alabama. Since the Private Mailing Card was being replaced by the early 1900s, the scene shown was most likely very soon after the 1904 courthouse was in use. It is probably among the earliest postcard scenes made of Newnan. The following categories are of use in dating postcards: Pioneer era, 1870 to 1898; Private Mailing Card, 1898 to 1901; Undivided Back Cards, where there was no space for the message on the back and it was usually written on top of the picture, 1901 to 1907; Divided back, 1907 to 1915; White Border, 1916 to 1930 (there are some cards produce until 1920 without a white border); Linen , 1930 to 1945; and Chrome or modern, 1946 on.

Newnan Times-Herald

James D. Ferguson

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright law. Permission for use must be cleared through the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society. Licensing agreement may be required.

CCR 1988.07.26

Postcards, photograph