Porter Thayer was born in 1882 in Williamsville, Vermont and began photographing his surroundings in 1906. He also had an apple orchard and he got caught up in the postcard craze that reached Vermont around this time. Interestingly enough, a business directory from 1909 notes that he would come to anyone's home and make images for "a reasonable fee." At the height of his career, he sold over 1,197 "postal cards" during a six-month period. His remarkable work is now located at the Center for Digital Initiatives at the University of Vermont Libraries. His work documents the rural landscape of southeastern Vermont in the early 20th century and students of New England history and culture will find all of this to be quite remarkable. There are 1,266 photographs in the collection, which visitors can browse by place, genre, or topic. First-time visitors should start with the areas covering Rivers, Horses, or Roads.