GOTTLIEB, Robert | Postcard collection
The Robert Gottlieb postcard collection.
10 boxes, 8 x 11 inches; in assorted colors; approx. 600 postcards in each.
Celebrated as one of the most influential editors of the 20th century, Robert Gottlieb was also known for collecting habits that were as distinctive and discerning as his editorial instincts—driven not by monetary value or prestige, but by personal fascination and an eye for the overlooked. He was drawn to the detritus of popular culture: plastic handbags, dance programs, souvenir ashtrays, postcards, et cetera. His approach was meticulous yet whimsical, often focused on strangely specific themes that revealed his delight in the offbeat and the absurd. Rather than pursue rarity or completeness, Gottlieb collected with curiosity and instinct, assembling archives of everyday objects that, in his hands, became cultural commentary. His collections were less about possession than about attention—acts of curation that celebrated the odd, the ephemeral, and the deeply human details others might miss.
Gottlieb did not collect postcards in the traditional sense. He was not interested in scenic landmarks or artful compositions. Instead, he sought the peculiar and the specific: vintage images of people posing with improbably large fish; solemn town halls in tiny Midwestern communities; eerily retouched depictions of post offices, gas stations, and motels. His eye gravitated toward the curious and the deadpan, assembling a visual archive of cultural oddities and quiet absurdities. To enter Gottlieb’s world of postcards is to encounter an editor’s mind at work—curating, framing, and elevating the seemingly trivial into objects of enduring fascination. These postcards are not merely collectibles; they are miniature windows into a cultural subconscious. Through them, Gottlieb explored the art of the ordinary and the beauty of the off-center, offering an intimate glimpse into the collector’s wit, intelligence, and lifelong commitment to the overlooked.
The Robert Gottlieb postcard collection—drawn from his own correspondence, flea markets, secondhand shops, and private dealers—consists of ten meticulously organized boxes, each holding approximately 600 cards, amounting to an archive of approximately 6,000 items, roughly organized by category. Roughly one-third of these postcards have been filled in, stamped, and postmarked, adding an additional layer of interest to what is already an unusually rich visual collection.
These messages—sometimes mundane, sometimes unexpectedly intimate—offer a window into the everyday lives and voices of the people who once sent them. A simple “Having a lovely time, wish you were here” gains new resonance when paired with an oddly composed photograph of a courthouse or a man holding an improbably large fish. The franked cards also carry the traces of time: old stamps, postmarks from vanished towns, and the distinctive handwriting styles of decades past. Each card, whether banal or bizarre, carries an aura of accidental meaning. Gottlieb’s interest lay not only in the image itself, but in what it revealed about its creator, its subject, and its time.