When picture postcards became popular in the late 19th century, businesses sprang up to take advantage of the new art form. In fact, names like the Curt Teich Company, the Detroit Publishing Company, the Edward H. Mitchell Company, and the Van Ornum Colorprint Company were, for decades, nearly synonymous with the small photos and sketches that tourists sent home from their travels. The dozens of postcards featured on this website from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, are all associated with the 21 missions established in northern and southern California by Spanish Franciscan missionaries between 1769 and 1823. Readers may peruse the beautiful paintings and photographs of these iconic religious institutions on the site, as well as read the brief but fascinating history of postcards in the United States and of the Spanish Missions that inspired this particular collection.