Although the Montana Historical Society relies primarily
upon donations to build our collections, we occasionally
take on the challenge of raising money to purchase large collections that we
feel would be significant to the study of Montana history.
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| A sample postcard from the Tom Mulvaney Collection. |
Recently, we have been presented with and accepted such a
challenge. Tom Mulvaney, an East Helena postcard collector, acquired a
collection of real-photo and printed postcards over thirty years. This collection of nearly 32,000 postcards
includes cards from 1898 to the 1970s, with the bulk of the collection from pre-1930. The cards cover a wide variety of topics in
Montana history—including mining, agriculture, commerce, western life, and
American Indians. The postcards document
the historical landscape of many towns—rural and urban—that still exist and
that are no longer part of the Montana landscape. There are also images of many railroads, both
Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, main streets and promotional
advertising, and Montana artists.
The Mulvaney Collection provides substantial visual
documentation of Montana’s history in the early 20th century. With many thousands of views illustrating
towns and their development; historic events, including strikes and disasters;
and appearances by notable personalities, this collection documents many
different aspects of Montana history.
Many of the views included in this collection are rare
and one-of-a-kind. The contents of the
collection, from both a topical and a format point of view, are very
significant to the study and documentation of Montana history.
We look to you, our friends and supporters, for help in
acquiring this important collection. If
you are interested in assisting us with this acquisition, visit our webpage for
more information.
