Christopher Newport University

CNU professor to sign copies of new book featuring
vintage postcards of Newport News

 

News Release - June 6, 2006

 Media contact:
Karen L. Gill
Office of Communications and Public Relations
karen.gill@cnu.edu
(757) 594-8428

Newport News: A Vintage Postcard Tour
Dr. Harold Cones, co-author of the new book "Newport News: A Vintage Postcard Tour," will sign copies of the book 12-3 p.m. on June 10 at Jo Louise on the Square gift shop, 4165 William Styron Square, in Newport News’ Port Warwick. And, beginning at 7 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Barnes and Noble bookstore at 12170 Jefferson Ave., near the Patrick Henry Mall in Newport News.

(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — “My! But it is hot. Just sizzling. Come down and go to the seashore and see how we keep cool.” This is the message written on a postcard of the “Electric Light Plant” in Newport News, postmarked July 19, 1911.

And this, postmarked June 6, 1935, on a postcard of the “boat landing,” at Old Point Comfort: “Greetings. Hows the battle works. Its swell to be loafing (and can I loaf). The flowers here are gorgeous. Magnolias and gardenias are just everywhere. They carry them around in buckets here. Some stuff, eh!” La-Vern.

But Mrs. Buckner had a different perception. “We are still in the land of the living but not in a place I would like to live,” she wrote on the back of a postcard from Newport News’ Warwick Hotel.

These are just a few of the more than 250 vintage postcards featured in a new book by a Christopher Newport University professor.

“Newport News: A Vintage Postcard Tour” by Dr. Harold Cones and John Bryant, published in May by Schiffer Publishing, features mostly original color postcards covering the city's history, industry, recreation and culture from the 1890s through World War II. The postcards are all part of Cones’ collection.

“I’ve collected postcards since I was a kid. I started collecting Newport News cards about 15 years go, and now I’ve got over a thousand,” Cones said.

Cones will sign copies of his book 12-3 p.m. on June 10 at Jo Louise on the Square gift shop, 4165 William Styron Square, in Newport News’ Port Warwick. And another book signing begins at 7 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Barnes and Noble bookstore at 12170 Jefferson Ave., near the Patrick Henry Mall in Newport News.

While many collectors look for postcards in mint condition, Cones, chairman of the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science at CNU, has a different philosophy on collecting.

“I let the postcards speak for themselves,” he said. “I only added postmarks and messages to the images. I really like the ones with greetings because they stop time.”

The postcards are loosely organized geographically from Newport News Point to northern Newport News. Also included are postcards from the neighboring areas of Hampton, Fort Monroe, Smithfield and Yorktown. Because he used to work as an unofficial historian for the Chamberlain Hotel, Cones collection includes many of the hotel and Fort Monroe, including a rare one featured in the book that shows the old Chamberlain Hotel and the Hygeia Hotel side by side.

“I encourage people to get a magnifying glass and see how pretty they are, and look at the people and their clothing,” he said. “The more you look, the more you see.”

The book also includes a history of Newport News and a chapter on deltiology – the study and collecting of postcards – that gives collectors useful information to build a postcard collection.

“The book is a real contribution to the history of the community,” said Joe Frank, mayor of Newport News.

This is Cones’ second book on Newport News. He published "Mariners' Museum Park, The Making of an Urban Oasis" in 2000. And he is planning to publish a book on vintage Virginia travel brochures.

For more information on Cones' books, visit http://bces.cnu.edu/conesbooks.html#postcards.

Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 4,800 students in programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Luter School of Business and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.