Illustration Inspiration Goldmine: Vintage QSL Cards

The podcasters of the 60's and 70's were also branding geniuses

I started an art residency at Prelinger Library in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood last week! Three things in that sentence you may or may not know about:

1. Art residencies! Art residencies are designed to give artists time and space to research, work on a project, build connections, and explore a new environment. This residency will grant me a stipend and allow me 24/7 access to…

2. Prelinger Library! According to their website, Prelinger Library “is primarily a collection of 19th and 20th century historical ephemera, periodicals, maps, and books, most published in the United States. Much of the collection is image-rich, and in the public domain. The library specializes in material that is not commonly found in other public libraries. Read more about the collection here.

   The library was co-founded in 2004 by Megan Prelinger and Rick Prelinger.”

   It’s a very special place. If you’re near San Francisco, I highly recommend making a visit during public hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays. They will offer you a canned bubble water upon entrance. I asked Megan Prelinger why they do this, and she said something like “we’ve always been a hospitality library.” I love that.

3. SoMa! Short for South of Market, this is a part of the city where I’ve spent very little time. I don’t know anyone who lives in this area, which is home to many tech companies, many museums, and the leather district. The neighborhood isn’t known for being the safest, which keeps a lot of people including myself away most of the time. But I know there are lots of hidden gems there, so I’m excited to get to know the area more.

There’s SO MUCH to explore in this collection and I want to share all of it with you. Where to begin? I know exactly where to begin. This magical box…

Radio Operator Trading Cards

These are QSL cards. QSL means “I confirm receipt of your transmission.” QSL cards are postcard-like cards exchanged between amateur radio operators or listeners, popular in the early days of radio broadcasting. Rick Prelinger has sorted thousands of these cards into boxes by categories like cards with photographs and cards by women operators. QSL cards date back to the 1920’s, but most of the cards in this collection appeared to be from the 60’s and 70’s.

The OG Podcasters

The cards with photographs will give you a good idea of what some of these radio operators looked like. At first, I had trouble wrapping my head around the fact that thousands of Americans (and people all around the world) were hopping on the radio to broadcast themselves and that others were listening.

Then I saw the card at the top of the center row below, featuring Dick, Marge, Don, and Dawn. I was struck by the fact that four friends would just hang out and make a radio show together and realized that this was the predecessor to podcasting from home. I’ve listened to my fair share of “chat podcasts,” and I’m very familiar with the appeal of listening to complete strangers chat about random things. It’s a good way to feel less lonely and more connected, both as a broadcaster and a listener.

Women Operators

My favorite cards are the women operator cards. Especially the cute and silly ones. I love the spectrum of personalities these cards represent. There were lots of animal names and imagery such as deer and doves, and even a tadpole. There were several empowered flight related personas, like The Red Baron, Flying Nun, and Wonder Woman. Words can’t adequately express the way that I feel this peanut woman encapsulates the feminine experience. No notes.

And then there’s the sexy cards, which raise so many more questions. What were these women broadcasting? Why did they feel comfortable sharing their addresses with complete strangers? Did they actually look like this? Would these women have been top podcasters today? WHAT WERE THESE WOMEN’S STORIES!!! I’m dying to know.

Finding Midnight Friend

My two absolute favorite cards were the cards of Midnight Friend and Ivan & Rose Meyers. Something about the illustration style of these two cards reminded me of what it felt like to feel safe and creative as a kid. I specifically felt drawn to Midnight Friend’s card, illustrated with the self-portrait of a sweet girl sitting on top of a hill.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that Midnight Friend is also featured on the Meyers’s card, and they have the same address and radio station. This means that Midnight Friend was a kid, Dawn Meyers, the daughter of Ivan and Rose Meyers. Can we just acknowledge that Midnight Friend is a fantastic moniker for someone whose name means “the first appearance of light in the morning?” This child, who would now be about 65 years old, was clearly a creative force. I wanted to get to know her.

The wild thing about QSL cards is that they feature full names and addresses, making it extremely easy to track people down. I wanted to learn more about Midnight Friend and figured I could easily find her with this information.

And I did find Dawn, through her obituary, sadly. Dawn passed away at the age of 56 in 2016. Her obituary, the photo, and the comments lead me to believe that Dawn was indeed the Friend she claimed to be. Her friend commented that she would miss “talking for hours on end about everything” with Dawn. Her sister commented, “It hurts my heart deeply that you are all gone. I have no one left to talk too.” Sounds like she would make for an amazing radio host.

Oh, what I’d give to listen to Midnight Friend’s radio show today, or just to have a chat with grown-up Dawn. I’ve developed a sense of attachment to Dawn and responsibility to Midnight Friend. Like most individual histories, this one is fragile, solvent in lost life and memory. Held in a piece of paper in a box in a room in a library in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, the fragility of this history is particularly palpable.

As you can tell from the family’s QSL card, there were many members of the Meyers family. I tried to track down several of Dawn’s family members to interview them about Dawn/Midnight Friend and these early days of self broadcasting. Many of her family members have died and others were hard to reach. I’ll keep trying and I’ll keep you posted. No pun intended.

Illustration Heaven

The last thing that I’ll say about these cards (for now) is that they are heaven to look at as a graphic designer and illustrator. They are also perplexing. WHO drew these cards? Was everyone just an amateur illustrator back in the day? Why were average people commissioning design and illustration work and paying for printing for their unpaid radio hobby?

What a beautiful intersection of broadcasting, printed matter, and postal correspondence. I’m excited to continue learning about these historical gems, I know I’m barely scratching the surface here.

Thanks for reading! If we haven’t met yet, I’m Allie Sullberg, and I’m an artist, writer, and illustrator. If you liked this post, one of the biggest ways you can support my work is by subscribing. Likes, comments, and shares are also a quick and meaningful way to support! Paid subscribers make this work possible. If you’d like to check out more of my work, here’s my website and my Instagram.

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