Curt Teich Postcard Archives

The Archives Building is temporarily closed. Please call the Lake County Discovery Museum for assistance at 847-968-3400.

The Curt Teich Postcard Archives, part of the Lake County Discovery Museum, is recognized throughout the world as the largest public collection of postcards and related materials. Follow us on Twitter @TeichPostcard.

The Teich Archives include:

• Images of more than 10,000 towns and cities in North America and in many foreign countries
• One of the nation's largest collections of Route 66, Lincoln Highway and other travel-related images
• Over 100,000 job files for the postcards produced by the Teich Company
• 365,000 postcards that are cataloged under more than 2,100 subject headings

Picture Researchers

For assistance using postcards from the Teich Archives, email or call us at 847-968-3381.

Hours

The Archives Library is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4:30 pm. An appointment will provide staff assistance and access to the Collections. Appointments are available weekdays from 9 am to noon and 1 to 4:30 pm. Phone, mail and email research requests are encouraged.

Museum Exhibit

Located in the Lake County Discovery Museum gallery, the Bringing the World Home exhibit provides a fun and entertaining look at life in the past two centuries through postcards. Learn about the history of the postcard and their importance as research documents.

Membership

Support the museum and receive great benefits by becoming a member of the Friends of the Lake County Discovery Museum. Members enjoy:

• Free daily admission
• Museum shop and research discounts
• Free subscription to the museum's Image File magazine
• Invitations to exclusive members-only events

Online Postcard Images

• Illinois Digital Archives
  Access more than 30,000 postcard views of towns, cities, lakes, rivers, and parks in Illinois, across the country and Canada from the Teich Archives collections. Browse images from the list of collections, or click on a link below:
  - Chicago
  - Midwest (NE,IA,IN,OH,KS,MO)
  - Northeast (ME,VT,NH,MA,RI,NY,CT,PA,DE,MD, DC)
  - Northern Midwest (ND,SD,MN,WI,MT)
  - South Midwest (TX,OK,AR,LA)
  - Southeast (KY,WV,VA,NC,TN,SC,GA,AL,MS,FL)
  - Southwest (CA,NV,UT,CO,AZ,NM,HI)
• AgPix
  View images of more than 180 different subject areas from the Teich Archives.
• Stock Index Online
  View historic images of 20th century life from the Teich Archives.
• Flickr - Browse images from the Teich Archives by categories.

Postcard Art Competition/Exhibition (PACE)

The Exhibition is on hiatus for 2013. Check back for updates.

This biennial event honors the postcard as an art form and challenges artists from around the country to create original works of art in 4"x 6" postcard size. Read more.

The Curt Teich Postcard Archives is located in Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda.

The entrance is located on Route 176 west of Fairfield Road. Follow signs to the Curt Teich Archives building. [View on Google Maps]

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