Don’t Forget to Write: Correspondence in the Pre-Electronic Age

Exhibited from May 28 2011 – July 17, 2011

Communication tools have changed dramatically over the years, and MAH’s collection of regional history provides examples of how the evolution of technology has shaped Santa Cruz County lifestyles and culture. MAH strives to use its collection of regional history to interpret our past.

This exhibition takes a look at how local people kept in touch before texting, Facebook, and Twitter became so popular and will explore questions such as: did you learn how to type on a typewriter or a computer? What does “c.c.” on an email really mean?

Some of MAH’s collection of communication artifacts will be on display from fountain pens and typewriters, to newspaper printing plates, as well as diaries and letters from the Museum’s archives. Visitors will have the opportunity to not only see these items first hand, but also read the words of community members from the past, and compare family wartime letters from 1918 with Facebook posts from 2010. Did the tools we use change the type of information we convey? Come to MAH and find out!