Ridley Wills East Tennessee Postcard Collection
Scope and Contents
Ridley Wills began collecting Tennessee postcards in the 1930s, eventually amassing some 30,000 postcards. In 2015, he began distributing them to regional institutions. The cards in this collection represent landmarks in East Tennessee, especially in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in Carter, Greene, Johnson, Sullivan, Washington and Unicoi Counties. There are images of schools, churches, hotels, towns, railroads, scenery and more.
Dates
- 1906-1996, undated
Creator
- Wills, Ridley (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Extent
1.9 linear feet (1354 postcards in 3 card file boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The postcards are grouped alphabetically by city, county or subject matter.
Method of Acquisition
Donated by Ridley Wills on April 27, 2015, accession number 2015-017; and on May 29, 2015, accession number 2015-023.
Other Descriptive Information
Dates are taken from postmarks and are not indicative of publication dates.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Jen Bingham in September 2015.
- Bristol (Tenn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Bristol (Va.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway
- East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad
- East Tennessee State College
- East Tennessee State Teachers College
- East Tennessee State University
- Elizabethton (Tenn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Erwin (Tenn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Great Smoky Mountains (N.C. and Tenn.) -- Pictorial works Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center Subject Source: Local sources
- Johnson City (Tenn.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Johnson City (Tenn.) -- Pictorial works Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Johnson County (Tenn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Jonesborough (Tenn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Jonesborough (Tenn.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Postcards Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Pressmen's Home (Tenn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Railroads--Pictorial works Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Roan Mountain (N.C. and Tenn.) Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Watauga Lake (Tenn.) Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Watauga River (N.C. and Tenn.) Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Archives of Appalachia Repository
PO Box 70295
344 J.L. Seehorn Jr. Rd.
Johnson City TN 37614 USA
423-439-4338
423/439-4338
archives@etsu.edu
