Book excerpt: Postcards are an important element of understanding our history, for they provide future generations with a rare glimpse into the past. Since the late 1800s, photographers have traveled around the nation to places such as San Antonio to capture scenes of everyday life and preserve them in this unique form. San Antonio began as a small mission village, a wild west frontier town, and starting point for huge cattle drives northward, and quickly grew into a bustling economic and cultural center for South Texas, luring residents and tourists with its colonial missions, diverse people, prominent military bases, long-standing traditions, and festive celebrations.