In 1916 Maine Governor Oakley C. Curtis proclaimed April 19 “Post Card Day” and issued a proclamation requesting all Maine citizens send a postcard of Maine to friends and family outside the state with the message “come to Maine.” Something tells us Governor Oakley would make a good tourism ambassador.
Today, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Maine Postcard Day, the Penobscot Marine Museum presents Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine. Through the exhibit, visitors are able to see Maine through the lenses of three Maine photographic postcard companies. The photography collection started with a group of Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company postcard glass-plate negatives, which were rescued from a flood and brought to Penobscot Marine Museum for preservation. Penobscot Marine Museum now has 50,000 of the company’s negatives, the largest Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company collection under one roof, as well as several hundred additional postcard negatives. Hey, if pictures are worth a thousand words, Penobscot Marine Museum is in possession of tens of thousands of “wish you were here” sentiments.