Where Life is Worth Living
Postcards containing the phrase “Where Life is Worth Living” and related research.
Note: This page is archival; anything new is now over at OPEN.
In the fall of 2024 I purchased a small lot of postcards for Seekonk Museum, among them was my first “Where Life is Worth Living” (WLIWL) card. The phrase struck me; pretty dark! I then found a card from Springfield, MA which not only had the same phrase and layout, but also the same inset photo of a river, trees, and bridge. And then more, and more, and more.
Above: “Where Life is Worth Living” and “Where Living is Worth While” cards; different phrases but same idea, and often the same images. I’ve also included a few cards from Detroit, the largest city to use the “WLIWL” slogan. These depict changes to Grand Circus Park over time.
Above: Mostly Unused blanks showing other phrases, flag shapes, and scenes. The last two shown, “Everybody is doing it in ___” and “They all love loving dispositions..” still have some glue residue on them—in addition to printing and stamping town names onto cards, some producers affixed felt flags to them.
Above are some marketing sample cards, the demos that publishers would mail or drop off at places like drugstores, local government offices, etc. Printers include the Auburn Post Marketing Company, M. L. Zercher, Cross & Co's, and the prolific NYCE Post Card Co.