The Postcard Age: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection

In the decades around 1900, postcards were Twitter, e-mail, Flickr and Facebook all wrapped into one. A postcard craze swept the globe, wreaking havoc on international postal systems and giving rise to anecdotes about overburdened postmen who had to leave bags of cards undelivered. Many of these cards were thrown away after they had served their purpose. But not all, as the craze for buying and sending postcards was married to a craze for collecting them. Millions upon millions of postcards were never posted; instead, they were tucked into boxes and albums, unused and in mint condition. Drawing on one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of postcards anywhere, The Postcard Age traces how big historical and cultural themes of the modern era played out on the postcards tiny canvas.

Leonard A. Lauder, the billionaire son of Estée, has spent a lifetime scouring kiosks by the Seine and souvenir shops off Portobello Road for rare vintage postcards. He began his quest as a boy, in the 1930s. buying postcards of famous New York City buildings at Woolworth's with his allowance of 5 cents. Lauder is now 79, and his peerless collection is finally getting its day in the sun with "The Postcard Age" ($45), a book and corresponding show (through April 14) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (T: The New York Times Style Magazine)

"The Postcard Age," opening Wednesday at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, features 700 examples from the era, drawn from the collection of Leonard Lauder, chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder Cos. (His collection numbers more than 160,000 in all.) The cards offer a window into the past, writes Mr. Lauder in the book that accompanies the show. But even beyond that, "postcards help remind us that history is lived and experienced by individuals." (The Wall Street Journal)