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Yellowstone National Park Souvenir Postcards by Haynes Photo Shops
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Collection SummaryThe history of the Haynes family is interwoven with the history of tourism in Yellowstone National Park. Frank Jay Haynes, known as F. Jay, was heavily involved in the early tourist trade in the park. In addition to his work as a photography and postcard concessionaire, he was involved in other businesses, such as transportation and camps in the park. His son, Jack Ellis Haynes, took over the photography studios and postcard business in 1916. Jack, who grew up in the park and spent almost his life there, was nicknamed “Mr. Yellowstone.”
The Haynes postcard business thrived in an era when postcards were the primary means of communication and could be sent for one cent in the United States and for two cents internationally. The Haynes family produced an estimated 55 million Yellowstone National Park postcards over the course of seven decades, an astounding number when you consider they sold their cards solely within the park.
The postcards in Museum of the Rockies’ “Yellowstone National Park Souvenir Postcards by Haynes Photo Shops” collection are white border cards known as Haynes Red-Letter Colortones. The ones in MOR’s collection were all published by Curt Teich & Company between 1924 and the late 1930s. The copyright dates seen on some of the cards do not necessarily reflect the date they were printed as the cards were often reproduced over the course of many years from Haynes’ negatives.
The postcards in MOR’s collection are from two sets that were donated in Haynes postcard boxes. Haynes Picture Shops produced boxed sets of specific cards, such as the popular “Haynes 100 Series,” a set of postcards arranged by number that followed the path of the Grand Loop Road around the park. Other boxes, like those in our collection, were used to package a random mix of cards chosen from cards previously printed.
One set was donated by Eleanor and Trevor Povah. These postcards are a part of the Hamilton-Povah Yellowstone Collection, which documents the Hamilton and Povah Families of West Yellowstone, Montana, and their operation of the Hamilton Stores within Yellowstone National Park between 1915 and 2003. The second set was the gift of David A. Walters in memory of his father, George W. Walters. Most of these postcards were purchased by the donor's father on a trip to Yellowstone National Park in the 1930s.
Contributing InstitutionMuseum of the Rockies
The Haynes postcard business thrived in an era when postcards were the primary means of communication and could be sent for one cent in the United States and for two cents internationally. The Haynes family produced an estimated 55 million Yellowstone National Park postcards over the course of seven decades, an astounding number when you consider they sold their cards solely within the park.
The postcards in Museum of the Rockies’ “Yellowstone National Park Souvenir Postcards by Haynes Photo Shops” collection are white border cards known as Haynes Red-Letter Colortones. The ones in MOR’s collection were all published by Curt Teich & Company between 1924 and the late 1930s. The copyright dates seen on some of the cards do not necessarily reflect the date they were printed as the cards were often reproduced over the course of many years from Haynes’ negatives.
The postcards in MOR’s collection are from two sets that were donated in Haynes postcard boxes. Haynes Picture Shops produced boxed sets of specific cards, such as the popular “Haynes 100 Series,” a set of postcards arranged by number that followed the path of the Grand Loop Road around the park. Other boxes, like those in our collection, were used to package a random mix of cards chosen from cards previously printed.
One set was donated by Eleanor and Trevor Povah. These postcards are a part of the Hamilton-Povah Yellowstone Collection, which documents the Hamilton and Povah Families of West Yellowstone, Montana, and their operation of the Hamilton Stores within Yellowstone National Park between 1915 and 2003. The second set was the gift of David A. Walters in memory of his father, George W. Walters. Most of these postcards were purchased by the donor's father on a trip to Yellowstone National Park in the 1930s.
Contributing InstitutionMuseum of the Rockiesloading google map....
Yellowstone National Park Souvenir Postcards by Haynes Photo Shops. Montana History Portal, accessed 15/11/2026, https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/89385
