Iconic Postcards Preserve Past –Cagle

Not to sound like an old-timer, but there is a timeless quality that accompanies hard copy printing...it just can't be captured electronically. This goes beyond just works of art; think about a brittle newspaper, a photograph yellowed with age, a faded document. These are artifacts captured from a moment in time, preserved for the ages.

Imagine the chills that would run down your spine if you held an original printing of the Declaration of Independence in your own hands. For me, holding a German stamp that depicts Adolf Hitler—printed when the madman was still in power—never ceases to make me shudder with fear. The tactile sensation and the way print can transform one to any place in time is the secret behind that timeless quality.

Still, it doesn't require historical, social or political significance to bring value to the printed piece. The humble postcard has occupied a sentimental role in Americana, and though its diminished role may have evolved over the years, it continues to offer both artistic and cultural relevance.

A fine example of this lies in Lake County, IL, where the Lake County Discover Museum houses the Curt Teich (as in tyke) Postcard Archives. It holds the distinction of being one of the largest postcard collections in the world, with more than 365,000 postcards cataloged under 2,100-plus subject headings. The archives include images of 10,000 towns and cities in North America and boasts perhaps the greatest warehouse of Route 66, Lincoln Highway and other travel-related images.

Many of the postcards were printed by the Curt Teich Co. of Chicago, which operated between 1898 and 1978. They truly depicted Americana, documenting everyday life with images of Main Street, national parks, planes-trains-automobiles, consumer products and even both World Wars, from the home front to the front lines.

The Teich Archives is helping to maintain the postcard as a living, breathing entity through its Postcard Art Competition and Exhibition (PACE). Held every two years, PACE “celebrates the postcard as art and a visual document.” The exhibition showcases 36 finalists selected by a panel of judges, with 12 award winners receiving a cash prize and printed copies of the postcard made from the entrant’s design.

According to Russ Schoenherr, senior vice president and director of client services for Lake County Press—which donates the printing of the 12 top entries—PACE receives upwards of 500 entries per competition. Lake County Press prints and collates the 6x4˝ postcards, which are sold at the museum store. The original postcard art is then sold to contributors.

Schoenherr and Lake County Press became involved in PACE around the mid-1990s, when his son was a Little League teammate of a child whose mother worked for the museum. The museum was looking for a printer to donate four-color process work for the contest. Lake County Press went from providing the printing for one to doing all 12.

“We get asked all the time about making printing donations,” Schoenherr notes. “This donation doesn’t support a charity, but it’s a donation which tries to keep something alive that’s a part of our past—the printed postcard. It promotes art and the idea of a postcard.

“People don’t use them much anymore, but this museum is trying to keep it alive while tying it into the promotion of art.”

Visit www.lcfpd.org to learn more about PACE and the Teich Archives.

DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH: English package printer Michal Takac suffered a horrific setback in July of 2007 when three of his fingers became stuck between two feed rollers of a machine at the Smurfit Kappa plant in Yate and were mangled beyond saving. But, according to the Daily Mail, technology has given Takac back his fingers.

Takac, 32, was the recipient of two new i-limb prosthetic fingers, which feature force-sensing resistors to grip and hold objects, according to the newspaper's account. The i-limb 
fingers, crafted by Touch Bionics, have electrodes that respond to signals given by muscles in the hand, allowing the digits to move independently, with accuracy and sensitivity.

Takac’s big toe was grafted onto his hand to replace the third finger. “It took me several months to get used to it, but now I consider it as part of me,” Takac told the Daily Mail. 
“It is me now and I feel more complete with it.”

Not only can Takac now grip a glass, the prosthetics have enabled him to enjoy a more normal life.

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