The Incredible David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Real Photo Postcards

History buffs are invited to swipe through the Tinder collection of photos of Lansing’s past … no, not that Tinder, these photos are pre-cell phone.

Noted postcard historians Christine Byron and Tom Wilson of Grand Rapids will deliver a presentation Thursday exploring the David V. Tinder Collection, one of the most significant collections of Michigan photography ever assembled, with more than 66,000 real photo postcards alone.

The images are contained in a searchable — can we say swipable — database that covers all 83 Michigan counties. There are more than 4,500 images of Lansing-area history.

Photo postcards are photographic prints developed on postcard stock, produced in limited numbers generations ago. They give us a unique and authentic look at everyday life in early Michigan.

Tinder was a Detroit-area engineer and passionate collector who assembled more than 100,000 historical images, including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, carte de visite, cabinet cards, stereographs and real photo postcards. He also created a definitive reference guide to early Michigan photographers, widely used in historical and genealogical research today. ​

Christine Byron is a former local history librarian for the Grand Rapids Public Library and Tom

Wilson is a historian and genealogist. They are co-authors of the “Vintage Views” book series. ​