The Man Behind Fred Harvey Postcards
- Jason Kleinhenz
- May 13
- 2 min read
Fred Harvey is a well known American Entrepreneur who helped popularize tourism in the American Southwest. Harvey opened up many restaurants and hotels along railroad routes in what was then, the “Wild West.” At its peak, there were roughly 80 “Harvey Houses,” which catered to wealthy & some middle class visitors.
There is great postcard documentation of these destinations because as Fred Harvey’s business was booming, so was the postcard industry. The Fred Harvey Company published many postcards (sometimes published through the Detroit Publishing Company) throughout its time, often of roadside & railroad scenes, and of (usually staged) Native American scenes. Below are several examples of Fred Harvey logos on postcards.
But behind Fred Harvey’s successful postcards and other marketing materials was a talented Missouri-born man, Fred Geary. Raised in Carrollton Missouri, Geary had a passion for art beginning at a very early age.
Around 1917, Geary took a position with the art department at the Fred Harvey Company in Kansas City, Mo. There, he designed menus, postcards, murals and promotional items. Geary worked with the company until the 1940s. Below are some examples of Fred Geary’s work on Fred Harvey postcards. As you can see, a few of them even give credit to Fred Geary. Fred Geary was extremely influential in the success of the Fred Harvey company, and the postcard world.
Here are some other great sites to learn more about Fred Geary:
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