You can learn a lot about a...

You can learn a lot about a town by looking at the postcards created for it, postcard collector Roger LeRoque says.

“Postcards are a form of social history,” he adds.

LeRoque and his partner in the R and N Postcard Co. of Temple City have 120 different views of Alhambra in their collection, some dating back to the heyday of postcard creation before World War I. LeRoque made Alhambra his focus because he grew up there.

Many people collect postcards of their hometowns, LeRoque said, but there are as many other specialties among collectors as the mind can imagine. Often, he says, postcard collecting is an extension of another hobby. People who collect corkscrews, for example, will collect postcard pictures of corkscrews.

The field is endless, LeRoque says, adding: “I defy anyone to come up with a topic that isn’t on a postcard.”

More than 2 million old and modern postcards, on subjects ranging from local history to rock ‘n’ roll, are on display this weekend at the Greater Los Angeles Postcard and Paper Collectibles Show at the Elks Hall, 400 W. Colorado Blvd.,

Roger LeRoque holds postcards with photos of two old Pacific Electric cars.

Pasadena. The show, which opened Friday, will conclude today. Doors will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Admission is $2.50.

LeRoque, one of the show’s promoters, said postcards can range in value from 15 cents to $1,500, but many are in the $5 to $8 range, making it an affordable hobby.

Free appraisals will be offered at the show, which includes other paper collectibles, such as old valentines, magazines and autographs.