Northfield Minnesota postcard collection

The Northfield Minnesota postcard collection houses a variety of postcards that focus mainly on St. Olaf College and its students. Many of the postcards depict photographs of how the campus of St. Olaf College, life of St. Olaf College students over the years, and St. Olaf College student activities. Along with these postcards, many of the postcards depict the city of Northfield, the state of Minnesota, the United States, Norway, and a number of other countries where individuals had traveled to and bought postcards while they visited.

The Northfield Minnesota postcard collection comprises over fifteen hundred postcards of St. Olaf College, its students, the city of Northfield, the State of Minnesota, views of the United States, Norway, and a number of other countries where the senders of these postcards had traveled to. The postcards in the collection date primarily from the beginning of the twentieth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century, with some postcards depicting events from the late nineteenth century.
 

A large portion of the collection focuses on the St. Olaf College campus and the students of the college. Many of the photographs on the postcards show how the campus has changed over the years by showing old and current buildings, and how some buildings have had their names and purposes changed. The photographs on the postcards of students on campus focus on student life, student groups, and student sports. Many of these postcards show student activities in the early to mid-twentieth century.

Many of the postcards in the collection were mailed and have written messages, stamps, and postmarks. The backs of a number of the postcards were also printed with information about the publisher and the captions describing the image.