Future Friday: The Detroit that Never Could Have Been

Over the past few weeks, you’ve been reading about the Detroit that never was. These novelty postcards depict a whole different kind of Detroit that never was. Rudimentary composite imaging techniques became popular in the early 20th century. It may not look as convincing as modern digital photographic manipulation, but audiences back then would have been surprised and delighted to see the streets of downtown transformed into the canals of Venice with large steamships traveling by. Look for more postcards depicting scenes of varying authenticity in our online digital collection.