January 8, 2009
Postcards became popular at the turn of the 20th Century, especially for sending short messages to friends and relatives. They were collected right from the start, and are still sought after today by collectors of pop culture, photography, advertising, wartime memorabilia, local history, and many other categories.
Postcards were an international craze, published all over the world. The Detroit Publishing Co. and Curt-Teich were two of the major publishers in the U.S, and sometimes individuals printed their own postcards as well.
There are many types of collectible vintage postcards. Hold-to-light postcards were made with tissue paper surrounded by two pieces of regular paper, so light would shine through. Fold-out postcards, popular in the 1950s, had multiple postcards attached in a long strip. Real photograph postcards (RPPCs) are photographs with a postcard backing.
Novelty postcards were made using wood, aluminum, copper, and cork. Silk postcards – often embroidered or with a printed image – were wrapped around cardboard and sent in see-through glassine paper envelopes, and were especially popular during WW1. In the 1930s and 1940s, postcards were printed on brightly colored paper designed to look like linen.
Most vintage postcard collectors focus on themes, like Christmas, Halloween, portraits of movie stars, European royalty and U.S. presidents, wartime imagery, and photos of natural disasters. Not to mention cards featuring colorful pictures by famous artists like Alphonse Mucha, Harrison Fisher, Ellen Clapsaddle, and Francis Brundage.
With vintage postcards, subject matter, condition, and rarity, plus general desirability and demand, determine value.
I worked for 35 years as a reference librarian with the Madison Public Library and I just got interested in M… [more]
Andreas Praefcke (Ravensburg, Germany) collects postcards of old and new theatre buildings worldwide. His com… [more]
"Organized in 1985, our mission is to foster and promote postcard collecting in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area … [more]
This collection of over 2000 postcards provides a peek at life in and around Delaware in the early 1900s. Browse g… [more]
Andreas Praefcke's postcard collection of theatres and concert halls worldwide. Showcases 3700 images of over 1810 … [more]
Digital Past, a group effort by dozens of Chicago-area institutions, boasts one of the world's largest online colle… [more]
Malcolm Roebuck's tribute to the ornate silk picture bookmarks and postcards ('Stevengraphs') produced by Thomas St… [more]
Don't let this one get away from you. This 'unbelievable' collection, from the Wisconsin Historical Society, featur… [more]
Great collection of American penny postcards from the early 1900s, organized by state and then county. Includes a n… [more]
This beautiful site features a collection of tinted postcards, woodblock prints, and early maps of Tokyo. The image… [more]
Lynne Appel's reference site contains useful information for postcard collectors such as such as a Postcard Collect… [more]
Marty Weil's wide-ranging, in-depth blog on ephemera, including lots of great interviews with ephemera collectors. … [more]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.
Are we missing one? Tell us.
Anderson Independent Mail, SC -
Fred Whitten of Anderson became a historian for Anderson County as he bought a box of old postcards at an estate sale in 1965. As his collection grew over ...
Andover Townsman, MA -
During the January breakfast Bob Domingue will show an illustrated sampling of his extensive postcard collection of buildings and areas that may trigger ...
Malaysia Star, Malaysia -
Among the 100 postcards belonging to deltiologist (postcard collector), Ng Wee Theng, are vintage postcards taken by German photographer A. Kaulfuss who was ...
Palm Beach Post, United States -
... that a photograph of her mother, a prominent Palm Beach pioneer, appears in the book and on the cover of a separately sold historic postcard collection. ...
Newsradio 620, WI -
One thing that makes him smile is his postcard collection. "I like seeing the cool pictures in front of them and where it's from," says Connor. ...
New York Times Blogs, NY -
It later emerged that two benefactors who had wished to remain anonymous — Leonard A. Lauder, the cosmetics heir, who has an interest in antique postcards, ...
Hindu, India -
Of these seven, three are non-text “Coffee Breaks”: a photographic essay from the turn of the century postcard collection of Claire Arni; cartoons and ...
DetNews.com, MI -
To fill open wall space, frame those antique postcards or family photos you stuck in a box years ago. Hunt for new everyday dishes to replace the old set ...
Toronto Star, Canada -
... Open Ceremony candles ($39); vintage postcards; and tons of action figures including Marie Antoinette ($15), who loses her head and her wardrobe. ...
