In those days the public wanted us to live like kings and queens. So we did . . . and why not? --Gloria Swanson

With the advent of new, inexpensive photographic technology emerging in the United States during the mid-19th century, communication by postcard became a very popular way to exchange travel stories, news, and gossip over the decades. Drawing on a private collection of vintage postcards, this new book features a history of Hollywood, spanning half a century. Exploring Hollywood before and after it became the entertainment capital of the world, these images offer readers a glimpse of some of the city's most interesting places during its Golden Years. Long before motion pictures arrived, when the area was a residential neighborhood of beautiful homes and lemon groves, Hollywood was just another suburb of Los Angeles striving to become a community. From the familiar sights of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and the Chinese Theater, to the horse-and-buggy driven dirt roads and pineapple fields at the turn of the century, Hollywood in Vintage Postcards will guide the curious through the city's progress in the first half of the 20th century.

With the advent of new, inexpensive photographic technology emerging in the United States during the mid-19th century, communication by postcard became a very popular way to exchange travel stories, news, and gossip over the decades. Drawing on a private collection of vintage postcards, this new book features a history of Hollywood, spanning half a century. Exploring Hollywood before and after it became the entertainment capital of the world, these images offer readers a glimpse of some of the city's most interesting places during its Golden Years. Long before motion pictures arrived, when the area was a residential neighborhood of beautiful homes and lemon groves, Hollywood was just another suburb of Los Angeles striving to become a community. From the familiar sights of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and the ChinesTheater, to the horse-and-buggy driven dirt roads and pineapple fields at the turn of the century, Hollywood in Vintage Postcards will guide the curious through the city's progress in the first half of the 20th century.

Palm Springs has been a desert vacation oasis for nearly a century and remains the ultimate posh desert spa in pop culture. Film stars put Palm Springs on the map as a destination for weekend getaways. In the postwar era, it became a centerpiece for golfers and a second home for such Hollywood icons as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Over the years, postcards portraying Palm Springs have concentrated on its hotels, spas, golf courses, celebrities, and other aspects that have fed the national reputation of the city and its environs as a playground for the rich and famous.

Just after the turn of the 20th century, the motion picture industry moved to the West Coast, and the largest land of make-believe was created in Hollywood, California. From the silent-era beginnings of primitive, open-air stages to the fabled back lots of the studios' heyday, Hollywood Studios presents a bygone era of magical moviemaking in rare postcards. Assembled from the author's private collection, these images from the Chaplin Studios to Metro-Goldwyn Mayer depict an insider's look back at the dream factories known as the Hollywood studios.

The beloved gift format that is 100 postcards in a box has never been more beautiful. The images include 100 rare portraits of exotic flowers, cacti and succulents from the world-renowned collection of the NY Botanical Garden. Printed on lush, uncoated stock to mimic the original paintings, these brilliantly colored postacrds can be mailed, framed or used in craft projects.