Civic Pride in a Lost America: Library Postcards
Carnegie Libraries of Iowa
Cities "M"
Malvern
Autumn, 1915 grant: opened, 1917. With a substantial addition, still in use.
Standard Carnegie Type A design, without the Prairie influence generally seen on the final years' buildings.
(R) L.L. Cook photo postcard, mailed in 1949, as part of a postcard exchange. Part of the lengthy message reads, 'They don't have colored view cards here.' I don't think I have seen any other cards of the town, come to speak of it.
Manchester
1902 grant; built 1903. Addition built 90 years later. Still in use, per CLIP.
(R) The first postcard of this building I purchased is still the nicest. I don't know the publisher, but it was mailed in 1908.
Maquoketa
D.N. Loose card.
Printed in Germany, this is part of the PCK line.
L.L. Cook card, mailed in 1970.
Jackson County.
Maquoketa's Carnegie library was also built in 1902. After renovation, it is still in use.
Marengo
Patton & Miller come to Iowa: 1904. Resultant library still in use, with an addition. A Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant provided for its web site.
Two photo cards, one from 1907, the other from 1911. The writing on the 1907 card is in German script.
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(R) This L.L. Cook postcard has few clues to its age, but there's a car at far left that appears to date to ca. 1960.
Marion
Could this be the staff of the Marion library assembled near the entrance? Could they be growing hemp for the war effort? Castor beans, more likely.
That plant must have been a subject of great pride, as it also appeared on a photo postcard, mailed in 1913.
J.B. Wilson card, printed in Germany, and mailed in 1910.
This 1903 building has been replaced. The Carnegie building serves as Methodist Church offices.
Herein lies a baffling tale. The image at left is obviously that containing the Plant of Great Pride, center, above. Yet it's captioned Carnegie Library, Bremen, Ind.
Bremen does not have a Carnegie library. The card was printed by Weixelbaum, and published by Charles N. Heister.
Marshalltown
(L) Festive, ennit?
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(R) J.B. Simmons card,printed in Germany.
L.E. Herring, whose stamp appears on the card, appears to have been a miller and merchant, according to jots of info across the Internet.
Late 1901 grant, renovated since. Replaced in 2008. This was quite the large library for its day. Its corner lot location results in a building that begins to look a bit 'Western.'
Mason City
Leather postcard, in pristine condition.
Battered tinted postcard.
Not much to see on this Curt Teich postcard, except some grand automobiles.
Well, isn't this something?
(L) Denison Adult Reading Room and Kinney Patio.
(R) Curt Teich postcard, mailed in 1944. It's rather, er, Plantation, isn't it?
The Carnegie portion was built in 1902, and the whole gemisch is now offices for a construction company.
Missouri Valley
(L) Card published by the Pike's Variety Shop of Missouri Valley, Iowa. Carries a plate number 3816: whose I know not.
(R) L.L. Cook photo card.
Harris County.
Built 1909, renovated 2000, according to the State Library of Iowa website.
Resembles the Rhinelander, WI, library before its renovation.
Monticello
1903 grant. Built 1906; replaced ca. 2006.
Who'd expect a Mission-style library in Iowa? Well, Mission with a single Gothic window. Patton & Miller could trick you at times. The floor plan, and more photos are on a IHDC site.
One of the buildings in the background appears to have been built in the mid-1950s, but I can't date this L.L. Cook photo card more closely.
Mount Ayr
Small 1915 Carnegie grant. It appears as if it sufficed, as the building is still in use, without expansion, today.
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The unattributed postcard was never mailed.
Mount Pleasant
(L) Central Post Card Agency card printed in Germany.
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(R) ca. 1947 L.L. Cook photo postcard shows awnings and ivy growing around the turret. There appears to be an addition on the very back.
1903 grant. Now used as an educational center. Conversely, the Library is now housed in a Deco high school building. Win-win?
This building is rather transitional between Romanesque (reflected in the tower by the arched entrance) and the more modern style (rectangular windows).