A Short History of Postcards

At the turn of the last century, sending and collecting picture postcards was a phenomenal, worldwide craze that’s difficult to fathom today. Before texting and e-mail; before the telephone made quick and convenient calls to friends and family possible; and even before cameras were commonplace possessions, the picture postal card was a state-of-the-art communication vehicle, combining image and text with (relative) speed of delivery. Postcards connected neighbors in the same town or relations on opposite sides of the globe.

The idea for the postcard dates back to the 1860s. By the early 1870s, “government” postal cards were being issued in America and Europe. The first cards lacked any decoration, but soon “picture” postcards appeared. These early cards were published intermittently and often commemorated expositions or wars, or were advertisements. They were not popular with the public.

Color first appeared on postcards in 1889, often in the form of hand-tinted black-and-white photographs. Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 introduced the first true picture postcards to millions of delighted visitors, and their popularity exploded with American audiences. The postcard finally took hold.

At a time when very few people had telephones in their own homes, the postcard was an inexpensive way to send a brief message. Mail was delivered quicker and more frequently than today—often twice daily. It was possible to send word of an intended visit the following day, and have the recipient receive the card and its message (content) before the visitor’s next-day arrival.

In an era when cameras were luxury items, the picture postcard afforded a means to keep or send a photographic record of a visited locale. Postcards were reasonably priced at a few cents—think of the “penny postcard”—with another cent for domestic postage (two cents foreign). Most postcards were never mailed (the term is uncirculated), but collected like we save vacation snapshots. Postcard clubs were established. A member might trade card mailings with someone he would never meet in another part of the country he might never visit.

All postcards from the author’s collection.

References: “The History of the Picture Postcard,” Ed Herny, from Picturing Berkeley: A Postcard History, Burl Willes, ed., Gibbs Smith, Publisher, Salt Lake City, 2005.
“The History of Postcards,” emotionscards.com.
“History of Postcards,” reviews.ebay.com.

Web site created by Lloyd Kenneth October 2010. Last updated July 2012.