Postcards from the Río Bravo Border: Picturing the Place, Placing the Picture, 1900s–1950s

By Daniel D. Arreola

A history in postcards of Mexican tourist towns in the first half of the twentieth century, with nearly two hundred illustrations.
 
Between 1900 and the late 1950s, Mexican border towns came of age both as tourist destinations—in some cases by luring Americans who wanted to escape Prohibition—and as emerging cities. Commercial photographers produced thousands of images of their streets, plazas, historic architecture, and tourist attractions, which were reproduced as photo postcards.
 
Daniel Arreola has amassed one of the largest collections of these border town postcards, and in this book he uses this amazing visual archive to offer a new way of understanding how the border towns grew and transformed themselves in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as how they were pictured to attract American tourists.
 
Postcards from the Río Bravo Border presents nearly two hundred images of five towns on the lower Río Bravo: Matamoros, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Piedras Negras, and Villa Acuña. Using multiple images of sites within each city, Arreola tracks changes both within the cities as places and in the ways in which they’ve been pictured for tourist consumption. He also shows how postcard images, when systematically and chronologically arranged, can tell us a great deal about how Mexican border towns have been viewed over time. This innovative visual approach demonstrates that historical imagery, no less than text or maps, can be assembled to tell a fascinating geographical story.
 
“This is masterful cultural geography with rich visual materials, delivered in a unique and compelling fashion.” —Journal of Latin American Geography

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780292752825

Book preview

PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH THE WILLIAM P. CLEMENTS CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST STUDIES, SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY

PICTURING THE PLACE, PLACING THE PICTURE, 1900s–1950s

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS

AUSTIN

Copyright © 2013 by the University of Texas Press

All rights reserved

First edition, 2013

Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions

University of Texas Press

P.O. Box 7819

Austin, TX 78713-7819

http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/rp-form

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Arreola, Daniel D. (Daniel David), 1950–

Postcards from the Río Bravo border : picturing the place, placing the picture, 1900s–1950s / by Daniel D. Arreola. — First edition.

p      cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-292-75280-1 (cloth : alk. paper)

1. Cities and towns—Mexico, North—History—20th century.  2. Urbanization—Mexico, North—History—20th century.  3. Mexico, North—History—20th century—Pictorial works.  4. Postcards—Mexico, North—History—20th century.  5. Matamoros (Tamaulipas, Mexico)—History—20th century.  6. Reynosa (Mexico)—History—20th century.  7. Nuevo Laredo (Mexico)—History—20th century.  8. Piedras Negras (Mexico)—History—20th century.  9. Ciudad Acuña (Mexico)—History—20th century.  I. William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, issuing body.  II. Title.

HT127.7.A774      2013

307.760972'10904—dc23

2012044413

doi: 10.7560/752801

ISBN 978-0-292-75281-8 (library e-book)

ISBN 9780292752818 (individual e-book)

FOR SUSAN

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

I. PLACES AND POSTCARDS

1. Río Bravo Border Towns

2. Postcards

II. POSTCARD VIEWS

3. Gateways

4. Streets

5. Plazas

6. Attractions

7. Businesses and Landmarks

8. Everyday Life

III. SIGHT INTO SITE

9. View of the Place, Place of the View

APPENDIX: Postcard Writings

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

TABLES

1.1. Río Bravo Border Town Populations, 1900–1960

2.1. Río Bravo Border Town Photo Postcard Photographers, 1900s–1950s.

FIGURES

1.1. Río Bravo border towns map.

1.2. Burned building, Nuevo Laredo, 1910s.

1.3. The Moctezuma Bar, Matamoros, 1920s.

1.4. Cathedral, Matamoros, before and after the hurricane, 1933

1.5. Guerrero Street, Nuevo Laredo, after the 1922 flood, 1920s.

1.6. Magic Valley and Old Mexico, advertisement, 1940s–1950s.

1.7. Matamoros map, 1940s.

1.8. Aerial view of Matamoros, 1940s.

1.9. Panoramic view of Matamoros, 1950s.

1.10. Reynosa map, 1950s.

1.11. Bird’s-eye view of Reynosa, 1920s.

1.12. International Bridge, Reynosa, 1930s.

1.13. Nuevo Laredo map, 1940s.

1.14. Aerial View, railroad depot, Nuevo Laredo, 1928

1.15. Panorama of Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

1.16. Piedras Negras map, 1940s.

1.17. Panoramic view of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, 1910s.

1.18. Panoramic view of Piedras Negras, 1950s.

1.19. Villa Acuña map, 1940s.

1.20. General view of Villa Acuña, 1920s.

1.21. Panoramic view of Ciudad Acuña, 1950s.

2.1. Gruss aus postcard of Ciudad Juárez, 1900s.

2.2a. Streets of Mexico exhibition, Pan American Exposition 1901, recto.

2.2b. Streets of Mexico exhibition, Pan American Exposition 1901, verso.

2.3. Esquivel Photo Service and Garcia’s Studio advertisements, 1949

2.4. Nuevo Laredo multiview advertising postcard, 1950s.

2.5. Juan C. Villarreal, fotógrafo, ink stamp.

2.6a. Bull fight at Villa Acuña, 1940s, recto.

2.6b. Genuine photograph post card, R. L. Warren Studio, verso.

2.7a. Government Palace, Piedras Negras, 1940s, recto.

2.7b. Photograph card, W. M. Cline Co., verso.

2.8. México Fotográfico postcard, advertisement, 1940s.

2.9. México Fotográfico photographic supplies, advertisement, 1920s.

2.10. México Fotográfico álbum de postales, advertisement, 1920s.

2.11. Tinted photographic postcard, Matamoros, 1950s.

2.12. Abrego Fot., postcard, Matamoros, 1920s.

2.13. Runyon No. 189, International Bridge, Matamoros, 1910s.

2.14. Street views, Matamoros, 1920s.

2.15. Mercado, Piedras Negras, 1930s.

2.16. Mexican fruit stand, Matamoros, 1900s.

3.1. Acuña–Del Rio wooden bridge, 1920s.

3.2. Piedras Negras–Eagle Pass wooden bridge, 1910s.

3.3. International Bridge, Piedras Negras–Eagle Pass, 1910s.

3.4. International Bridge, Reynosa-Hildago, traffic, 1920s.

3.5. International Bridge, Reynosa-Hildago, suspension construction, 1920s.

3.6. Citizens Bridge, Del Rio, Texas, 1920s.

3.7. International Bridge Gate, Piedras Negras, 1930s.

3.8. Garita, Juárez, Reynosa, 1950s.

3.9. Ferry from Brownsville to Santa Cruz, 1910s.

3.10. Ferry from Santa Cruz to Brownsville, 1910s.

3.11. Immigration office, Matamoros, 1930s.

3.12. Santa Cruz station, Matamoros, 1920s.

3.13. Mule car, Matamoros, 1907

3.14. Matamoros y Santa Cruz mule car, Santa Cruz, 1910s.

3.15. Santa Cruz streetcar barn, Santa Cruz, 1920s.

3.16. Matamoros y Santa Cruz streetcar, Santa Cruz, 1920s.

3.17. Motorized tranvía, Matamoros y Santa Cruz, 1920s.

3.18. Motorized tranvía, Matamoros, 1920s.

3.19. Crossing the International Bridge, Laredo–Nuevo Laredo, 1900s.

3.20. Cyclone damage to the International Bridge, Nuevo Laredo, 1900s.

3.21. International Bridge, Laredo–Nuevo Laredo, 1900s.

3.22. International Bridge, Nuevo Laredo, January 1, 1914

3.23. Temporary crossing for the new Los Arcos International Bridge, Nuevo Laredo, 1920s.

3.24. Bridge and immigration office, Nuevo Laredo, 1930s.

3.25. Pan American Highway Bridge Dedication, Nuevo Laredo, 1935

3.26. Traffic jam on the International Bridge, Laredo, July 4, 1941

3.27. Laredo, Gateway to Mexico, gateway promotion, 1944

3.28. New International Bridge and garita, Laredo–Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

4.1. Street Scene, Matamoros, 1900s.

4.2. Calle Hidalgo, Villa Acuña, 1920s.

4.3. Calle Sexta, Matamoros, 1940s.

4.4. Calle Porfirio [Díaz], Reynosa, 1950s.

4.5. Calle Zaragoza, intersecting with Calle Juárez, Piedras Negras, 1910s.

4.6. Calle Zaragoza, looking north toward Calle Fuente, Piedras Negras, 1910s.

4.7. Hidalgo Monument, Piedras Negras, 1920s.

4.8. Calle Zaragoza, Piedras Negras, 1920s.

4.9. Calle Zaragoza, looking north between Calle Guerrero and Calle Allende, Piedras Negras, 1910s.

4.10. Calle Zaragoza, looking north between Calle Guerrero and Calle Rayon, Piedras Negras, 1910s.

4.11. Calle Zaragoza, looking north, Piedras Negras, 1920s.

4.12. Calle Zaragoza, looking north, Piedras Negras, 1950s.

4.13. Guerrero Street, Nuevo Laredo, ca. 1915

4.14. Avenida Guerrero, Nuevo Laredo, 1920s.

4.15. Avenida Guerrero, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

4.16. Avenida Guerrero, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

4.17. Important businesses, Avenida Guerrero, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

4.18. Tourist shops, Avenida Guerrero, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

4.19. Avenida Guerrero, Longoria Block, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

4.20. Avenida Guerrero, looking north, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

5.1. Plaza Juárez, Ciudad Porfirio Díaz, 1900s.

5.2. Plaza Hidalgo, Matamoros, 1910s.

5.3. Plaza Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, 1920s.

5.4. Plaza Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

5.5. Plaza Hidalgo, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

5.6. Plaza Hidalgo, South side along Calle Morelos, Reynosa, 1920s.

5.7. Partial view of Plaza Hidalgo, Reynosa, 1940s.

5.8. Plaza Hidalgo fiesta, Reynosa, 1920s.

5.9. Cathedral and Calle Morelos, Reynosa, July 10, 1926

5.10. Plaza Hidalgo and the Municipal Palace, Reynosa, 1920s.

5.11. Plaza Hidalgo, looking north, Reynosa, 1920s.

5.12. Juárez Monument and kiosco, Reynosa, 1920s.

5.13. Juárez Monument and kiosco, Reynosa, 1940s.

5.14. Plaza Hidalgo, Reynosa, 1940s.

5.15. Plaza Hidalgo, Reynosa, 1950s.

5.16. Plaza Benjamín Canales, Villa Acuña, 1910s.

5.17. Presidencia Municipal, Villa Acuña, 1920s.

5.18. Church and school, main plaza, Villa Acuña, 1920s.

5.19. Guadalupe church and bust of Manuel Acuña, Ciudad Acuña, 1950s.

5.20. Plaza Benjamín Canales, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

5.21. Plaza panorama, Ciudad Acuña, 1950s.

6.1. El Parián, Nuevo Laredo, 1900s.

6.2. Mercado Belisario Domínguez/Maclovio Herrera, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

6.3. Mercado Maclovio Herrera, rebuilt, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

6.4. Interior, Mercado Maclovio Herrera, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

6.5. Railroad station, Piedras Negras, 1920s.

6.6. Railroad station, Nuevo Laredo, 1950s.

6.7. Plaza de toros, Matamoros, 1910s.

6.8. Plaza de toros, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

6.9. Plaza de mercado, Matamoros, 1930s.

6.10. Mercado Juárez, Matamoros, 1940s.

6.11. The mercado, Matamoros, 1907

6.12. The meat market, Matamoros, 1900s.

6.13. Mercado Juárez, Matamoros, 1920s.

6.14. Interior of the mercado, Matamoros, 1950s.

6.15. Bullfight at Sabinas Arena, Villa Acuña, 1928

6.16. Villa Acuña and La Macarena map postcard, Villa Acuña, 1950s.

6.17. La Macarena Café Bar, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

6.18. La Macarena Arena, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

6.19. La Macarena Patio, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

6.20. St. Nicholas Fiesta at Macarena Arena, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

6.21. Conchita Cintrón, Famous Woman Bullfighter, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

6.22. Patricia McCormick gored in bullfight, Villa Acuña, September 5, 1954

7.1. The American Bar, Matamoros, 1920s.

7.2. The Cadillac Bar, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

7.3. Shamrock Bar, Nuevo Laredo, 1938

7.4. Bohemian Club Drive-In, Nuevo Laredo, 1920s.

7.5. The Bohemian Club, Nuevo Laredo, 1930s.

7.6. Mrs. Crosby’s Café, Villa Acuña, 1920s.

7.7. Mrs. Crosby’s Orchestra, Villa Acuña, 1920s.

7.8. Mrs. Crosby’s Hotel and Café, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

7.9. Washington Bar, Villa Acuña, 1940s.

7.10. Moctezuma Café, Matamoros, 1920s.

7.11. Jardín Bella Vista, Piedras Negras, 1930s.

7.12. Joe’s Place, Reynosa, 1950s.

7.13. Advertising card, Joe’s Place, Reynosa, 1940s.

7.14. Sam’s Place, Reynosa, 1940s.

7.15. La Cucaracha, Reynosa, 1940s.

7.16. Mexican Curiosities, Piedras Negras, 1920s.

7.17. Mexican Curios Shop, Reynosa, 1940s.

7.18. Pete’s Curio Store, Reynosa, 1930s.

7.19. Curio stamps.

7.20. Indian basket makers, De Alba’s Mexican Curios, Reynosa, 1940s.

7.21. Power’s Curios, Perfumes, and Antiques, Nuevo Laredo, 1930s.

7.22. Calendario Azteca, Ciudad Acuña, 1950s.

7.23. Manhattan Curio Shop, Matamoros, 1940s.

7.24. Casa Lalo’s Curios, Reynosa, 1950s.

7.25. Lalo’s Gift Shop advertisement, 1956

7.26. The Casamata, Matamoros, 1920s.

7.27. Customs House, Matamoros, 1900s.

7.28. Customs House, Piedras Negras, 1930s.

7.29. Station XER, Villa Acuña, 1930s.

7.30. Station XEPN, Piedras Negras, 1930s.

7.31. The old cemetery, Reynosa, 1920s.

7.32. Gate entrance to the old cemetery, Matamoros, 1900s.

7.33. Crypts in the old cemetery, Matamoros, 1910s.

8.1. Making tortillas for sale, Matamoros, 1900s.

8.2. Women washing, Matamoros, 1900s.

8.3. Like Beasts of Burden, Matamoros, 1900s.

8.4. Goat herders, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

8.5. The milkman, Villa Acuña, 1930s.

8.6. A Mexican ox cart, Matamoros, 1910s.

8.7. A water carrier, Matamoros, 1910s.

8.8. Collecting water from the river, Reynosa, 1920s.

8.9. Filling water barrels, Matamoros, 1910s.

8.10. Water delivery to businesses, Matamoros, 1910s.

8.11. Shop selling blankets, ropes, and baskets, Matamoros, 1900s.

8.12. Shop selling produce, baskets, and clay pots, Matamoros, 1900s.

8.13. Upper-income homes on Calle Morelos, Ciudad Piedras Negras, 1910s.

8.14. Subdivision Colonia Jardín, Matamoros, 1950s.

8.15. The wool market, Ciudad Porfirio Díaz, 1900s.

8.16. Railroad shops, Ciudad Porfirio Díaz, 1900s.

8.17. Oil derrick, Reynosa, 1950s.

8.18. Teatro de la Reforma (Teatro Cine Anteo), Matamoros, 1930s.

8.19. Teatro Cine América, Nuevo Laredo, 1940s.

8.20. The Girls’ School, Matamoros, 1900s.

8.21. The Madero School, Piedras Negras, 1910s.

8.22. A park, Nuevo Laredo, 1930s.

8.23. Restaurant Mexicano, Matamoros, 1910s.

8.24. Mexican family, Matamoros, 1900s.

8.25. Home garden, Matamoros, 1920s.

8.26. Parade on Calle Sexta, Matamoros, 1920s.

8.27. Centennial celebration, Matamoros, 1920s.

8.28. Hotel Central, Piedras Negras, 1920s.

8.29. U.S. Customs inspection, Edinburg, Texas, 1900s.

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Postcard, later sister, poor sister of the letter, providential refuge of narrow imaginations, of hesitant syntax, of shaky spelling, resource of people in a hurry, normal means of expression of a world which moves fast enough, picturesque documentation at a low price, popularizer; postcard, friend of the traveler, of the lover of folklore, of the local historian. . . .

—ROBERT BURNAUD¹

Postcards entered my professional life in 1993. In that year, I attended my first postcard collectibles show in Los Angeles. The world of professional postcard dealers and collectors proved a curious and irresistible enterprise. The Los Angeles show, which was considered a premier West Coast event, convened in Pasadena, had about three dozen dealers set up, selling what must have been over a million postcards of every imaginable subject and type, organized on tables in three separate rooms of the Elks Hall located on the corner of Colorado and Orange Boulevards across from the Norton Simon Museum. Avid collectors were stacked up two and sometimes three deep in front of dealer tables sorting through long boxes of postcards or coveted special albums that housed the better stock. Postcard boxes were most often systematically ordered in two general divisions: by topical categories and by U.S. states subdivided by towns. Topical collectors would approach a dealer table and ask, Got a category for Route 66 roadside? or Can I see your better real photo? or What have you got in aviation? There were many, many collectors seeking cards of American towns, one of the most common collecting categories. Few seemed interested in foreign postcards that were typically boxed at an end table or a lonely back table, away from the frenzy of the popular front tables. Not uncommonly, a well-stocked dealer would have a small section in a single box that included Mexico postcards, usually filed between Italy and Morocco. If I was lucky, a dealer might have an entire box of Mexico postcards. A dealer with multiple boxes of Mexico postcards could be an ascent to Nirvana with the requisite visit to the nearest ATM.

I might have come away from that Los Angeles show with 50 or so postcards, no so-called killer (exceptional) cards, rather mostly common cards, but I was hooked, and there was no turning back. Over the next eighteen years, I became a passionate collector of Mexico border town postcards, and dealers across the country got to know me for that category. In time, I found most of the common material and with an expanding budget began to seek out the richer veins of better cards. I followed the West Coast postcard show circuit to large gatherings in Phoenix, San Diego, Concord (in the San Francisco East Bay Area), Sacramento, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Pasadena, and Glendale (Greater Los Angeles) and smaller shows in Southern California like Arcadia, Granada Hills, Santa Ana, and Santa Barbara. I expanded my travels to postcard shows in Texas—El Paso, Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Austin. There were postcard shows in Albuquerque and Denver. Pushing east, I ventured to shows in Columbus (Ohio), Chicago, Kansas City (Kansas), Minneapolis, Wichita (Kansas), and Collinsville (Illinois, near St. Louis). The East Coast probably has more postcard collectors and dealers than most of the rest of the country combined. I trekked to large shows in New York, New Jersey, Pompano Beach (Florida), Orlando, Brimfield (Massachusetts), Allentown (Pennsylvania), and—the granddaddy of all postcard events—York (Pennsylvania), where upward of seventy-five dealers would set up and it would take two full days of searching to hunt for material, which is usually there to be discovered.

In addition to shows, there were always antique stores to search in all these and dozens of other locations. Some dealers even had stores set up in particular towns. Mary Martin’s World of Postcards in Perryville, Maryland, is as near to postcard heaven as one can hope to ascend. Multiple visits to that shop found me going through more than a dozen long boxes of unsorted Mexico postcards. Then came online vendors, the largest and best known being eBay, but others have since joined the market. With online trading, I can now search for postcards 24/7. I still go to shows, however, because in the end collecting, like many other habits, is a social activity, and meeting people and developing friendships with other collectors as well as dealers is part of the joy in this benign obsession, as one of my collector friends calls it. Besides, there is no better way to see thousands of postcards than to attend a show.

I first outlined the boundaries for this project in July 1995. The intellectual goal in this nearly two decade long passion for postcards has always been to come to understand how Mexican border towns have been depicted in this extraordinary popular imagery. As a geographer scholar and educator, I am interested in postcards as visual information about places, and I use the imagery to illustrate some of my lectures to students and others about the changing nature of these peripheral towns, long ignored but today a growing part of our collective consciousness about our neighbor to the south. As a collector, I am interested in all types of postcards about this borderland whether print or real photo, old or new. My collection is now in the vicinity of some seven thousand postcards of Mexican border towns, and while that total may give pause, I will confess that I still find new and interesting cards almost daily online and at every show I attend. That fact says something about the possibilities of a collecting category and the limitless universe of something as seemingly obscure as postcards of Mexican border towns.

Yet there is rich reward in this collecting habit. A collection of many views of specific places over time can create what photographer Mark Klett calls image density.² High image density for a place enhances the power of imagery, giving it utility in an exercise bent on telling a story about place. We come to learn that images have a shaping influence in the way we negotiate and think about places. The Mexican border towns are distinctive places, and the postcards tell us something about how these places have been viewed over time. Because postcards can hold sway over our views of place, I have subtitled this project Picturing the Place. At the same time, postcards are geographical information, representations of particular places at particular times that enables Placing the Picture in a sequence that creates what I call a serial scripting, or narrating of place. The postcards—systematically and chronologically arranged—allow us to discover how they create, quite unconsciously, a changing view of that place. That view is not a complete picture of the place, as if that could ever be achieved. Rather, the assembled view is a visitor imaginary, a unique vision because often the same locations and landmarks get photographed and reproduced generation after generation, enabling a sequential perspective through time. While this condition might be accomplished with other kinds of imagery, postcards alone are at once inherently capable of this repetitive dimension and accessible at the same time, qualities not always achieved with other forms of imagery.

While postcards are the medium I use in this project to understand places, a reasonable question might be, Why border towns? My connection to Mexican border towns arises from childhood trips with relatives to Tijuana, the border town nearest the home of my youth in Los Angeles. In 1987, along with friend and colleague James Curtis, I engaged a project to visit, observe, research, and then write about the geographical personality of the Mexican border towns, places that had largely to that point in time been neglected by serious scholarship, certainly by geographers. The Mexican Border Cities: Landscape Anatomy and Place Personality was the foundational project in what has become an academic life built around continued exploration and writing about these places.³ Postcards from the Río Bravo Border is the first installment in a series of books that will explore the entirety of the Mexican border through postcard images. Whereas The Mexican Border Cities was largely a contemporary analysis of the system of border towns, this book is a historical geography, a portrait about how the past is visualized in selected Mexican towns along the Texas border. In Mexico, where there is a tradition of this type of story about places in the past, it is called historia gráfica.⁴ The emphasis is not simply illustrated history; instead, the purpose is to excavate how images and their makers are part of a visual telling about people and place. Between 1900 and the late 1950s, Mexican border towns came of age both as tourist destinations and as emerging cities in their own right. Postcard imagery helps us see these places during that five-decade transformation.

The present volume interprets five Río Bravo Mexican border towns. I use Río Bravo, the Mexican name for the river called the Rio Grande in the United States, because this project explores the Mexican, not American, border towns. The geographical focus (discussed in Chapter 1) is five Río Bravo towns that were major tourist destinations during the period of study, the 1900s to 1950s. These towns, unlike smaller Río Bravo border towns like Camargo and Ciudad Miguel Áleman, were intensely captured by postcard photographers, creating a sufficient base of images to assess the places visually. Smaller towns, therefore, lacked image density to illustrate how the towns were viewed by postcard images. Still other Río Bravo border towns like Ojinaga and Ciudad Juárez are not examined in this work because their historical geographies are linked to another chapter in the narrative visual history