Finding Treasure in your Mailbox
Postcards Never go out of Fashion
by Marilyn Loeser
Postcards.
 You find them at tourist information centers, souvenir
shops and major attractions. Tourists buy them for their scrapbooks, to show
to friends and as inexpensive mementos to send their loved ones back home.
Others use postcards to send holiday and birthday greetings.
Postcards have been used for corresponding with loved
ones since John P. Charlton of Philadelphia patented the postcard in 1861.
 I
love sending postcards, especially while traveling. And I’m very organized.
If I’m traveling in the United States, I buy my postcard rate stamps ahead
of time, I make address labels for each person I want to send a postcard to
and fit everything, along with a few sheets of stationary and envelopes into
a pocket folder and tuck it all into my suitcase. Ditto for foreign
destinations except, of course, I buy my stamps when I reach my destination.
 Even
when it gets a little pricey, especially when you’re in a foreign country,
it’s a lot less expensive — and nerve-racking — than trying to figure out
what everyone back home might enjoy as a token of remembrance from your
travels. Plus, with new luggage regulations and fees, it’s a stress free way
to let everyone know you remembered them and let the Postal Service take
care of the delivery.
Postcard collecting
 One
of the most popular hobbies in the world is postcard collecting. There are
more than 150 deltiology, or postcard-collecting, clubs in the United States
alone. As with most antique categories, age is only one factor in evaluating
old post cards. Other considerations are condition, artistic quality,
manufacturer, and probably most important of all, subject matter.
 Buy
cards that are interesting to you like a historic picture of your home town.
 More
than any other antique, postcards are collected by category: advertising,
movie stars, aviation, dogs and major cities. The list is endless.
And, there are other reasons for their popularity.
They’re small. More often than not, they’ve been
mailed, so there’s a personal message, a postmark and stamp making the age
undeniable. And almost any subject imaginable has been, at some time,
portrayed on a postcard.
 History
itself can be tracked on postcards.
 It
certainly was for me when I started reading my mother’s correspondence on
the back of these small pieces of decorated cardboard after she passed away.
I knew she loved getting postcards, but I didn’t know how extensive her
collection was.
Postcard history
After Charlton patented the postcard in 1861, he sold
the rights to H. L. Lipman. Nine years later European countries were also
producing postcards.
 The Post Office
Department — as the United States Postal Service was known before 1971 —
began issuing pre-stamped postal cards in 1873. It was the only
establishment allowed to print postcards, and it held its monopoly until May
19, 1898, when Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which allowed
private publishers and printers to produce postcards. The popularity of
postal cards to send quick notes became even more popular when designs were
as desirable as the message it accompanied.
Until 1901, the United States government prohibited
private companies from calling their cards “postcards,” so they were known
as “souvenir cards.” More bureaucracy prohibited writing messages on the
address side of the postcard until 1908.
The postcards popularity soared as a result of the
Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893. Postcards featuring buildings
were distributed at the fair. But until 1907, only the address could be
written on the back of the postcard. Any messages had to be written on the
front.
 This
is when the "divided back" card, with space for a message on the address
side, came into use in the United States. This also began the Golden Age of
American postcards. In 1908, more than 677 million postcards were mailed.
Their popularity lasted until about 1915, when, during
WW I, fine German-printed cards were no longer being imported into America.
 Collectors can age
postcards by their style as well. The "white border" era, named for obvious
reasons, lasted from about 1916 to 1930. The "linen card" era lasted from
about 1931 to the early 1950s, when cards were primarily printed on papers
with a textured surface similar to linen cloth.
 The
last and current postcard era, also began in the 1930s and is known as the
"chrome" era. The images on these cards are generally based on colored
photographs and identified by the glossy appearance given by the paper's
coating.
Picture postcards became very popular by both senders
and collectors, but they also raised some legal issues, that many identify
as a precursor to the controversies we face today over Internet subject
matter.
What might be considered humorous in one country might
not be viewed in the same fashion by another country delivering the
postcard. Some countries might refuse to handle postcards illustrating
provocative beach scenes, for example, or images of full or partial nudity
in images of classical statuary or paintings.
Postcards today
 Postcards continue
to be the most popular form of souvenir for travelers as well as economical
means of communication, both personal and business related. You’ll also find
in most souvenir shops that postcards are printed on other surfaces besides
heavy paper including metal, leather and wood. Some cards are even
individually hand-painted.
I’ll bet you never thought about what a wonderful gift
you’re really buying and mailing to your family and friends while on your
business trip or vacation. It’s really a treasure to be found in the
mailbox; a mail moment surprise.
For more information on designs and history, check the
website: www.emotionscards.com/museum/museum.html. | 