Montana State University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Manuscript Collections
Ronald B. Tobias postcard collection on Yellowstone National Park
Tobias, Ronald B., 1946-
2473
4 linear feet
10 boxes
1905-1974
This collection contains postcards collected by Ronald B. Tobias on Yellowstone National Park. Postcards date from 1905 to 1974 and are organized by the publisher. This collection features postcards from a wide array of publishers, which imagery of famous locations in Yellowstone, wildlife, and geysers.
English
.
Open for research without restrictions.
Donated by Ronald B. Tobias on January 20, 2005.
This collection is arranged in the order in which it was received from the donor. It has been subdivided into groupings by the creator, which have been retained by the archivist. Within each box, the postcards are group by publisher and are roughly organized alphabetically within the groupings.
Ronald B. Tobias was an American poet and writer. He founded the MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking (SNHF) Program at Montana State University (MSU) in 2001. Tobias was named the first Discovery Professor this same year, a position that combined fundraising, administration, and teaching. He was known for poems, such as "Jubilee," published in 2016. Tobias also published a book on filmmaking titled Film and the American Moral Vision of Nature: Theodore Roosevelt to Walt Disney. He also published an article through the Carolina Quarterly called "How Newton Learned Poetry or Why Goats Hate Snow."
Tobias was born in 1946. He married Valerie Ann Jonsson in 1982 in Collin, Texas. Tobias lived in Phillipsburg, Montana, from 2007 to 2020, and has also lived in Superior, Colorado, and Bozeman, Montana.
Tobias collected postcards related to Yellowstone from a wide array of publishers and collected duplicates of nearly every postcard.
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. Materials are in the order in which they were received from the donor. This collection was processed in 2025.
The Ronald B. Tobias postcard collection of postcards pertaining to Yellowstone National Park is an assembled collection of commercially produced postcards. The postcards come from a wide array of publishers including Acmegraph, American Import, W.S. Berry, Franz Huld, E.C. Kropp, Northern Pacific, and Robbins Brothers, among others. In assembling the collection, Tobias used Michael Francis's and Kathleen Burke's Yellowstone Postcard checklist, 1897-1951 as a reference, checking off individual postcards in his collection. This is not a complete compendium of all postcards related to Yellowstone but the collection includes a large number of the postcards on Francis and Burke's checklist. Burke and Francis do not appear to have any connection to this collection, but their checklist likely informed Tobias's collecting efforts. His collection also extends past these dates from 1905-1974.
The collection contains multiple copies of most postcards, with an encapsulated master within each set.
Copyright varies across the collection. Items are expected to enter the public domain one hundred years after the date of creation. MSU is not permitted to grant permission to reproduce items in this collection that are protected by copyright.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park--Photographs
Tourism--Yellowstone National Park
National Parks
Montana
Postcards
Photographs
Acmegraph
1
American Import
1
Albertype
1
American Historical Art Publishing
1
American News
1
American Oil
1
Wesley Andrews Company
1
Art Litho Company
1
Artvue Post Card Company
1
J.C. Barndell
2
E. Von Bardelelen
2
Barcalow Porot
2
W.H. Bates
2
W.S. and A.F. Berry
2
Carte Postale
2
A.O. Heyer
2
Franz Huld
2
International Post Card
2
Burlington route
2
Union Oil
3
Union Pacific
3
Valentine and Sons
3
L.E. Webster
3
Whetstone
3
Wheelock
3
Williamson Hafner
3
Western Air Express
3
Western Ways
3
Westland Views
3
Woodburn/ Wheeltone
3
Yellowstone Park Camps
3
Zimmerman
3
C.C. Black
3
Boyd Studio
3
Bozeman Novelty
3
Bloom Bros.
3
Bob Anderson
4
A. and S. Beemer
4
Big Sky Magic
4
Billings News
4
Brounell News
4
L.L. Bunnell
4
Casper Magazine
4
L.L. Cook
4
Cooper
4
Crandall
4
H.S. Crocker
4
D. and G. Enterprises
4
Flash's Studio
4
Dam Grigg Enterprise
4
Hamilton Stores
4
Hamilton Group
4
Intermountain Tourist
4
Kall Wholesale
4
E.C. Kropp
4
Lauretla
4
M. and R.
4
Geo. McCo.
4
F.J. McCollum
4
McKee
4
Mohr
4
W.E. Noble
4
No Publisher
4
Northern Pacific
4
J.A. Ossen
4
Bob Petley
4
Playground of Rockies
4
Rushmore Photo
4
Sanborn
4
Shellenberg Studio
4
Eric Seaich
4
Shoshone Distributing
4
Sturm Studio
4
Union Oil
4
Vam's Candy
4
West Yellowstone Postcard
4
Western Photo
4
Western Souvenirs
4
Yellowstone Park Company
5
Edward H. Mitchell
5
Montana Souvenir
5
Chas. Morris
5
Morris and Barnes
5
NY Sunday American and Urnl
5
Cecil Nixon
5
No Publisher
5
Nordqeuist and James
5
Northern Pacific
5
Omaha News
5
Lucien Powell
5
Printed in Germany
5
W.T. Ridgeley
5
Roahen
5
Robbins
5
Sanborn
6
Sawyer
6
Scheuber
6
Schilling
6
Smith and Chandler
6
Souvenir Novelty
6
Souvenir Post Card
6
Stadler
6
Sturm
6
Curt Teach and Company
6
Llyod Thomas
7
Tichnor
7
Tuck
7
Union News
7
Jammer
7
Burlington Route
7
Chicago Milwaukee Saint Paul
7
C.R. Childs
7
Cohn Bros.
7
Commercial Chrome
7
Conco
7
C.T. Company Chicago
7
Crandall
7
S.P. Eagle
7
Flash Studios
7
Gallatin Gateway Inn
7
N.L. Graves Company
7
Gray News Company
7
J.C. Habeustroh
7
Hafstrom
7
V.O. Haurmon
7
Hearer
7
F.J. Hiscock
8
Horan
8
Felustraked postal Card
8
Jersey Coffee
8
Johnston's Art Stores
8
Johnston and Bordewyk
8
Kall
8
Kaeser and Blair
8
Keefe Bros.
8
Kellogg's
8
C.A. Kirsey
8
E.C. Kropp
8
L.H. Larsen
8
Lawrence and Gorham
8
Frank H. Leib
8
Linstad
8
Manz Color Hypes
8
Matteson
8
Missoula Drug
8
Ranger Naturalists Manual of Yellowstone National Park Book
9
Map of the Yellowstone National Park
9
Assorted slides, postcards, and Yellowstone souvenirs
10