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The Penn Libraries provides services and collections to further the University of Pennsylvania’s research, teaching, and learning mission and to address the essential challenges and opportunities presented by a rapidly changing world. To this end, the Penn Libraries partners with communities at Penn and beyond to produce, preserve, and provide access to knowledge. Penn’s Center for Global Collections (https://www.library.upenn.edu/global-collections), Kislak Center for Special Collections (https://www.library.upenn.edu/kislak), and Van Pelt Library (https://www.library.upenn.edu/vanpelt) all participate in building collections from and about the Caribbean.  

Penn’s Indo-Caribbean postcard collection, dating from the late nineteenth century to 1975, depicts Indo-Caribbean life and culture in Trinidad, British Guyana, Suriname, and Jamaica. The postcards in this collection were produced by a variety of studios, largely for sale to tourists, and include portraits, scenes of everyday life, mosques and temples, as well as the houses and villages of Indo-Caribbeans. A significant number depict Indo-Caribbean women and children in staged scenes often dressed formally and adorned with jewelry. Some of the postcards have been written and mailed, and feature postage stamps and postmarks, while some remain blank and unmailed.