Page 3 - Demo

The vintage Indiana postcards in this collection are known as Bird%u2019s Eye Views, or Aerial Views. They offer a perspective from far above houses, factories, streets, monuments, and all the various components of a rural setting, town, or city. These impressive and unusual postcards were stamped, addressed, and mailed to friends or family to convey community pride, a greater sense of place, or as a simple souvenir. Others were bought and kept by the buyer%u2014squirreled away and unused%u2014in boxes, drawers, and attics for the same reasons. And, some were assembled into albums, such as this one.From mankind%u2019s earliest days, the idea of being able to observe our earth-bound surroundings from above, has both intrigued and inspired. In myth, in literature, and in our own thoughts and dreams, the ability to fly has been an enduring, compelling theme. In ancient Greece, Daedalus built wings for himself and his son Icarus, and much later Superman launched generations of towel-caped children from living-room couches. No doubt, wanting to rise above our mundane lives is innate to who we are. Because of this, capturing a bird%u2019s-eye view has featured prominently in photography since the camera%u2019s invention. When Joseph Niepce took the world%u2019s first photograph in 1827, it was from his upper-floor studio window, aimed at the courtyard directly below. By today%u2019s standards, the image is of poor quality, but it remains compelling, not just because it was the first photo, but because of its perspective%u2014clearly a bird%u2019seye view. A dozen years later, in 1839, Louis Daguerre (father of the Daguerreotype) photographed from an even higher elevation%u2014the roof of a tall building.As the science of photography improved, avid practitioners dreamed up new ways of capturing images from well above the earth. In 1858, Gaspard Felix Tournachon (who became known as Nadar) made an aerial photograph from the gondola of balloon. The next year, he contacted the French Military and suggested the idea of taking %u201cmilitary photos%u201d for their campaign in Italy, then using the images to prepare maps.During the late 1880s, Monsieur Arthur Batut took aerial photographs from a kite over Labruguiere, France. His camera featured a slowburning fuse, which triggered a rubber-banddriven device, which actuated the shutter a few The world%u2019s first photograph%u2014a bird%u2019s eye view.