Name: Make it a Date with Tinder
Start: 2026-04-16T18:30:00-04:00
Location: 528 N Capitol Ave, Lansing, MI 48933-1210, United States

The Incredible David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Real Photo Postcards
Two of Michigan’s most notable post card collectors and authors Christine Byron and Tom Wilson of Grand Rapids will present a program on the exceptional David Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography, Thursday, April 16, 6:30 p.m. at the Historical Society of Greater Lansing Museum, 528 N. Capitol on the campus of Lansing Community College. The event is free.
David V. Tinder’s vast collection of 66,470 real photo postcards were donated to the Clements Library at the University of Michigan several years ago. Recently the cards were scanned and categorized and are now available online in an easy to research format. Christine and Tom will show examples of the scope of this collection, from diverse topics like logging, early agriculture, small town views, and much more, along with more than 4,500 exciting examples from the Lansing area. There are images of people, many not identified, but others like Theodore Roosevelt and Michigan governors are recognized.
The digital collection is organized by specific city, town, and county and all 83 counties are represented in the collection. Searching can be done by keyword, city, town, subject or photographer.
Tinder was a Detroit area engineer who spent his lifetime collecting daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, carte de viste, cabinet cards, stereographs and real photo postcards ultimately amassing more than 100,000 images including real photo postcards.
In addition to the physical photographs Tinder created the ultimate guide to early Michigan photographers which is invaluable in researching family histories. Real photo postcards are actual photographs printed on postcard stocks and usually were produced in limited quantities and highly sought by collectors.
Christine and Tom share a love of Michigan and a fascination with its history. Their collection of antique postcards and tourist and travel ephemera was the inspiration for their “Vintage Views” books. Christine retired from her position as the local history librarian at the Grand Rapids Public Library and Tom has been involved in local history and genealogy research for many years. They are both active in the local history community.