Ever since their early twentieth-century "Golden Age," postcards on both sides of the Atlantic have recorded popular culture. Through humour, views of urban and rural places, photographs of individuals, fantasy, advertising, and succinct messages, they have documented art and entertainment, social events, commercial practices, reform movements, political propaganda, and countless byways of society. They are the centre of this account as it looks at key facets of daily life, the diverse efforts of individuals to maintain health and treat minor illnesses, relationships between patients and physicians, and popular stereotypes of health care practitioners working inside and outside hospitals.