Mail Carrier with a Camera: Photographs by Burford Royston

by Joan Stack, Kimberly Harper (Introduction), Deanna Dikeman (Foreward)

Mail Carrier with a Camera: Photographs by Burford Royston presents a poignant and witty collection of mid-twentieth-century images of rural Missouri life.

Royston (1919–2009) was a mailman with the US Postal Service from 1950 into the 1980s. As he traveled his mail route in southern Howard County, Missouri, he documented what he saw through his camera. This book features 107 of Royston’s photos, printed from his original slides. They picture the community he served, from businesses to farmyards, back roads to houses, widows to laborers, and everything in between.

Dr. Joan Stack, the State Historical Society of Missouri’s art curator, provides commentary on the photos, while SHSMO editor and Missouri historian Kimberly Harper offers an Introduction.

Award-winning photographer, 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, and Missouri resident Deanna Dikeman contributes the book’s Foreword.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A treasure of a collection, documenting rural life in the 1950s from the view of a mail carrier who crisscrossed the countryside of Howard County, Missouri. For an amateur photographer, Royston’s shots are thoughtfully and artistically composed. The book also contains much context, helping the reader to better understand and connect to the images and the people and places they portray. These photos are rare gems and you can tell the loving work that went into making them shine.

[Ross Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Step back in time to rural Missouri along the Missouri River valley as captured through the skillful eye of Burford Royston. Royston's camera captured a time and place, while commentary from Joan Stack, Deanna Dikeman, and Kimberly Harper, provide both helpful context and insight into why these are valuable additions to American history and photography.