Venice, California: A Centennial Commemorative in Postcards, 1905-2005 (Center for American Places - Center Books on the American West)

As more than a few of its citizens would claim, Venice, California, has gone through numerous reincarnations. In the 1970s, it was the roller-skating capital of the world. In the 1930s, it was a haven for sunbathing beauties and their hopeful consorts. At its inception in 1905, Venice was the imaginative solution to one man's lifelong struggle with asthma. Replete with gondolas, wooden rollercoasters, and a miniature train that encircled the town, Venice was, and continues to be, best described through picture postcards.

Delores Hanney has spent years collecting the pictures that made Venice real, not only to its visitors but also to their friends back home. In Venice, California, she shares these unique images with us: a camel ride, a wide canal, a brightly-painted Moorish-style building. Venice, California is an exquisite rendering of a town whose history was nearly indistinguishable from its surfaces. It will delight art historians, scholars of cultural studies, and anyone who appreciates Americana and the carnival.