Publisher Description

In 1850, Sacramento was a city of 10,000 men with almost no women or children, a transient population going to and from the gold mines in the Sierra Nevada. The waterfront on the Sacramento River was a chaotic scene of oxen and mule teams, piles of supplies on the wharf, and abandoned ships whose crews had jumped ship for the goldfields. The city also became a major railroad junction and agricultural hub in the 1800s before it became the center of state government, and much of the bustling cityA a¬a s early life was captured on picture postcards.

Author Biography

-->Tom Myers--> studied physics in Bogota, Colombia and Buenos Aires, Argentina before receiving his bachelor's degree from St. John's College in Santa Fe, and his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania. A software developer and consultant, he has been working mostly on Java/XML projects for the past few years; some earlier research in parallelism and in functional programming languages seems to be coming back to life, within XSLT. In addition to joint publications with Alexander Nakhimovsky, he is the author of a book and several articles on theoretical computer science

Review Text

Title: Postcard History Author: Alex Huie Publisher: Sacramento Press Date: 4/29/2010 Tom Myers has melded his passion for vintage postcards and love for Sacramento in his newest book, "The Postcard History of Sacramento," out now by Arcadia Publishing. For more than 42 years, Tom and Sally have been published photographers located in Sacramento. The last 35 years have been dedicated to freelance stock photography, where their company, Tom Myers Photography, houses more than a half million exclusive images available for purchase. "The Postcard History of Sacramento" features vintage postcards mailed from 1905 to the 1930s, including antique images of the Sacramento Valley. Each image reveals a scene from a dusty time, giving readers a glimpse into an era before Sacramento was known for government and a pistol was potentially a best friend. In 1850, Sacramento was almost overrun by 10,000 men whose main objective in life was gold. The postcard book begins with the history of the Gold Rush and maps the several transformations leading up to present. The disastrous floods of 1861-1862, led to a city-wide effort to raise downtown. Myers depicts the monumental event of elevating 60 blocks 12 feet. "Most of the postcards were found at the Antique Paper sale, which happens once a year at the Scottish Rite Center," Myers said. "Most collectors want the pristine ones, but I seek the dirty-looking ones, with bent corners. That's history to me." Myers scavenged the postcards and compiled them for the book. An individual postcard can cost anywhere from 25 cents to $15. In one of Myers' favorite postcards, there is a picture of a man feeding an ostrich oranges. However, because ostriches apparently eat oranges whole, there is a fist-sized lump protruding from the neck of the animal. This particular postcard was a popular in 1905 because of its comedic value. Myers explained "that this area had ostrich farms back then because their plumes were used for fancy hats." Along with a visual image of our area's past, each postcard came with a personal note or story, which Myers includes in the book: "Messages, some written with a great sense of humor, reveal life of the people in those days and times," Myers said. One postcard reads, "Dear Nova, I'll make the children be careful with the piano. Had a tirble dream abut it." The book is 127 pages, containing 213 postcards and supplemental history of the Sacramento area. It can found for immediate purchase at most bookstores, online at arcadiapublishing.com, or customers can call Tom and Sally at (916) 443-8886, and Tom will personally autograph a copy.

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