Excited to be here, and so is my assistant!

To see the full analysis and collections of images, visit here: sites.dartmouth.edu/jcompton/202...

This study situates postcards as underexplored tools of historical and cultural communication, revealing how visual media conveyed identity, nostalgia, and aspiration in the early 20th century. #NCA2024 #VisualRhetoric

My analysis categorizes these postcards into four themes: destinations, nature, players, and illustrations. Each category highlights a different facet of how golf was represented and marketed in this era.

While golf is often seen as elitist, postcards were an egalitarian medium. They democratized access to golf’s imagery, offering a broad audience a glimpse into the sport and its aspirational culture. #SportComm

These postcards reveal much about their time: the growing popularity of golf, its romanticized natural settings, and even its humor. They are small artifacts with significant rhetorical implications. #PostcardHistory

Vintage postcards—once a dominant medium—offer valuable insights into historical communication. My focus is on golf postcards, which simultaneously promoted destinations, conveyed cultural ideals, and celebrated the aesthetics of the sport. #VisualRhetoric #GolfHistory

#NCA2024

If you’d like to learn more, you can check out the full paper here: sites.dartmouth.edu/jcompton/202...

The Life at Camp Dix postcard shows how early public health messages didn’t shy away from acknowledging concerns, instead addressing them head-on to build trust in vaccination—a strategy still relevant today.

By combining visual reassurance with text that reframes challenges, this postcard functions as a two-sided health communication message, normalizing vaccination while countering hesitancy through preemptive refutation.

The back of the postcard takes a bold step by openly acknowledging potential objections, such as side effects. It raises these concerns directly and then diminishes their significance, a classic example of inoculation theory in practice.

The front of the postcard shows soldiers calmly lining up for vaccination, portraying the process as orderly, routine, and even positive. Facial expressions range from neutral to pleasant, reinforcing a sense of normalcy and calm.

The postcard does something kind of unique: it directly addresses vaccine side effects, calling them a “vexation for a few weeks” but reframing them as “petty disturbances…far overshadowed by the great good” of disease prevention.