When did the use of Postcards start?

   A copyright on a private postal card was issued to John P. Charlton of Philadelphia as early as 1861, later transferred to his fellow townsman, H.L. Lipman. These early cards, decorated with a slight border pattern and labeled "Lipman's postal card, patent applied for", were for sale until 1873 when the first government postcards appeared. Plain postcards were in use well before that. They were issued by the post offices of various countries with the country's stamp imprinted on them. They are referred to as "Postals". The first appearance of a non-postal "postcard" that was privately produced to which postage must be affixed, is accredited to occurring in Austria in 1869. By 1870 picture postcards were being published in limited quantities throughout Europe. Until recently, it was thought that U.S. postcard use lagged farther behind that of European usage.

NOTE: Writings were not permitted by law on the address side of any postcard until March 1, 1907. For this reason many postcards up to 1907 have messages across their fronts. Writing on the front of early postcards is not a fault.

Deltiolgy, the formal name in the U.S. for postcard collecting, is currently the third largest collectable hobby in the world. It is surpassed only by coin and stamp collecting (in the U.S. baseball collecting is greater, but that is a national past-time not worldwide). The popularity of post cards can be attributed to their broad subject appeal. Almost any subject imaginable has been, at some time, portrayed on a postcard. The broad subject range comes as a result of the social usage cards were designed for. Postcards continue today to be the most popular form of souvenir for travelers as well as economical means of communication both personal and business related. BELOW: Click on links to view pictures, then use your back button to return.

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*Postcards shown are  for examples only, not for sale. If you are looking for a particular subject please email us or let us know if you have postcards for sale.

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PIONEER ERA(1893-1898)

PRIVATE MAILING CARD ERA (1898-1901)

POSTCARD ERA (1901-1907)

DIVIDED BACK ERA (1907-1914)

WHITE BORDER ERA (1915-1930)

LINEN ERA (1930-1944)

PHOTOCHROME ERA (1945 to present)

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A SHORT HISTORY OF THE POSTCARD IN THE UNITED STATES
By John McClintock

Although there were earlier scattered issues, most pioneer cards in today's collections begin with the cards placed on sale at the Colombian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois on May 1, 1893.  These were illustrations on government printed postal cards and on privately printed souvenir cards.  The government postal card had the imprinted 1 cent stamp while the souvenir cards required a 2-cent adhesive postage stamp to be applied to it.  Writing was not permitted on the address side of the card. (See samples on left.)

PIONEER ERA(1893-1898)
Although there were earlier scattered issues, most pioneer cards in today's collections begin with the cards placed on sale at the Colombian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois on May 1, 1893.  These were illustrations on government printed postal cards and on privately printed souvenir cards.  The government postal card had the imprinted 1 cent stamp while the souvenir cards required a 2-cent adhesive postage stamp to be applied to it.  Writing was not permitted on the address side of the card.

PRIVATE MAILING CARD ERA (1898-1901)
On May 19, 1898, private printers were granted permission, by an act of congress, to print and sell cards that bore the inscription "Private Mailing Card".  Today we call these cards "PMC's".  Postage required was now a 1 cent adhesive stamp.  A dozen or more American printers began to take postcards seriously.  Writing was still not permitted on the address side, however many publishers often left a wider border on the side or bottom of the view side so a short message could be added.

UNDIVIDED BACK ERA (1893-1907)
The above three eras can also be grouped into the general heading of 'undivided back'.

POSTCARD ERA (1901-1907)
The use of the word 'POST CARD' was granted by the government to private printers on December 4, 1901.  In this era, private citizens began to take black and white photographs and have them printed on paper with post card backs.  Writing was still not permitted on the address side.

DIVIDED BACK ERA (1907-1914)
Post cards with a divided back, that is, with a printed vertical line down the middle, were permitted starting March 1, 1907.  The address to be written on the right side and written messages to be on the left.  Many millions of cards were published in this period.  Up to this point most cards were printed in Germany who was far ahead of this country in the lithographic processes.  With the advent of World War I, the supply of post cards had to come from England to the United States.

WHITE BORDER ERA (1915-1930)
Most of our post cards were printed in the USA during this period.  To save ink, a border was left around the view thus we classify them as "White Border Cards".  High cost of labor, inexperience and public taste caused production of poor quality cards.
High competition in a narrowing market caused many publisher to go out of business.

LINEN ERA (1930-1944)
New printing processes allowed printing on post cards with a high rag content that caused a "linen like" finish.  These cheap cards allowed the use of gaudy dyes for coloring.  The firm of Curt Teich flourished with their line of linen postcards.  Many important events in history were recorded on these cards.

PHOTOCHROME ERA (1945 to present)
The "chrome" post cards started to dominate the scene soon after they were launched by the Union Oil Company in their western service stations in 1939.  Mike Roberts pioneered with his "WESCO" cards soon after World War II.  Three dimensional post cards also appeared in this era.

REAL PHOTO POSTCARD

 TOPICAL

*Postcards shown are  for examples only, not for sale. If you are looking for a particular subject please email us or let us know if you have postcards for sale.