Interviews and oral histories not only detail the history of the Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Co., and the "Golden Age of the Postcard", but also divulge stories from a quieter, simpler, yet stirring and enterprising time period. The audience hears first-hand accounts of smuggling during prohibition, of river drivers brawling for fun, of growing up without worry and without constant adult supervision, and of slop buckets spilling on tourists’ pies. These accounts are woven together amidst an exceptional backdrop of archived films and Eastern Illustrating’s exemplary imagery.
When Spring would arrive in the Northeast, the traveling photographer/salesmen from the Belfast, Maine-based, Eastern illustrating and Publishing Company would pack up their cameras, catalogues, and order books, and head out on the road, seeking buyers and markets for their unique “real photo” postcards.
Between 1909-1940, Eastern’s photographers captured roughly 100,000 views on glass plate negatives. These views captured towns that are no longer on maps, towns that we never knew existed, our home towns, and they captured, thoroughly, a way of life in the rural northeast in the early