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Discovery Museum
 
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Lake County Discovery Museum
Lake County History Archives
Lakewood

Other Information
Postcard Gifts
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How to Use the Archives and Library
Collections
Digital Past
Teich Dating Guide
FAQ

The Curt Teich Postcard Archives, part of the Lake County Discovery Museum, is recognized throughout the world as the largest public collection of postcards and related materials.

The Teich Archives include:

  • Images of more than 10,000 towns and cities in North America and over 87 foreign countries
  • One of the nation's largest collections of Route 66, Lincoln Highway and other travel-related images
  • Over 100,000 job files for the postcards produced by the Teich Company
  • 365,000 postcards that are computer-cataloged under more than 2,100 subject headings

Hours

The Archives Library is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. An appointment will provide staff assistance and access to the Collections. Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Telephone, mail and e-mail research requests are encouraged.

Exhibits

Located in the Lake County Discovery Museum gallery is the new exhibit, Bringing the World Home, a fun and entertaining look at life in the past two centuries through postcards. Learn about the history of the postcard and their importance as research documents.

Membership: Friends of Lake County Discovery Museum

The Friends of the Lake County Discovery Museum began in 1971 as a group of private citizens organized to promote the Museum, which opened in 1976. The Friends are a not-for-profit organization formed exclusively for educational purposes. Their purpose today is to provide support to Museum operations in the areas of membership, development, fundraising, and the publication of Historian and Image File.

Friends of the Lake County Discovery Museum enjoy:

  • Free admission
  • Museum store discounts
  • Free subscription to the Museum's Historian or Image File magazine
  • Invitations to exclusive Members-only events

To become a Member, call 847-968-3400 or download a membership application (PDF file).

Images

  • Postcards Online - Digital Past Project
    Access more than 25,000 postcard views of towns, cities, lakes, rivers, and parks in Illinois, across the country and Canada from the Teich Archives collections. Please read the following instructions before linking to the site:
    • At the Digital Past screen select Lake County Discovery Museum from the drop down list under Browse by Institution
    • Click on 'Go'
    • Then select from the list of collections to browse through the images
    • Or at the top of the page, click on search in the bar
    • Enter a search term, and select where you want to search
    • www.digitalpast.org
  • AgPix
    View images of more than 180 different subject areas from the Teich Archives.
  • Stock Index Online
    View more than 300 images of people and places around the world from the Teich Archives. 
  • Flickr - Browse images from the Teich Archives by categories.

Postcard Art Competition/Exhibition (PACE)

This bi-annual event honors the postcard as an art form and challenges artists from around the country to create original works of art in 4"x 6" postcard size. View past winning entries.

 
Location
The Curt Teich Postcard Archives is located in Lakewood Forest Preserve in southwest Lake County.
The entrance and parking area are located on Route 176 west of Fairfield Road. Follow signs to the Curt Teich Archives Building.
 
Contact Information
Curt Teich Postcard Archives
27277 N Forest Preserve Rd
Wauconda, IL 60084
teicharchives@co.lake.il.us
847-968-3381 (phone)
847-526-1545 (fax)
 
Route 66
The Teich Archives has a significant collection of Route 66 images.
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News

Lake County Discovery Museum Honored as 2008 Library of the Year
Catalog of Postcard Gifts Now Available
New Survey - Lake County Forest Preserves Popular, Highly Rated