Collecting Picture Postcards
Collecting picture postcards is a fascinating hobby that can often take you on a nostalgic journey of childhood memories with cards showing places that have long since changed, life, fashions, work or vehicles as they used to be. Other interests revived may be lovely pictures of children by the artist Mabel Lucie Attwell, early film stars, steam trains or saucy comic postcards.
The earliest postcards were plain and appeared in Austria in 1869 with the first picture postcards being issued a few years later. In Britain the first picture postcards were not permitted until 1894. In 1902 Britain was the first country to divide the back to allow for both the address and a message whilst the front could have a full picture. Then almost everyone started sending postcards because they were a cheap method of communication as it only cost ½d for a postcard until 1918 and 1d to send a letter. The messages on the early postcards can be very interesting. You will often see messages from people arranging a time to meet for coffee in a couple of days. I once had a postcard from the Isle of Man which read “…We had great excitement here this morning as a body was seen floating in the harbour, it gave George a great appetite for breakfast.” Postcards that were sent home from forces during the wars were only allowed a few words of greeting on them.
The collecting of postcards today basically falls into two main categories: Subject cards like art, railways, comic and Topographical cards showing old views of towns, buildings, social history, etc.
TOPOGRAPHICAL - Some of the topographical postcards that may be of interest to collectors are old views of their town or a place where they used to live or have fond memories of. Generally the closer the view the more desirable the card and, consequently, more expensive. Close-up street scenes may show the fashions from bustles to boaters, old trams or horses and carts delivering to the quaint old shops. If you can get real photographic postcards rather than printed ones they are better but more expensive. It is quite interesting to find view cards that have had objects added or removed like trees drawn onto a bare hillside or an ugly building erased. You may also see close-up views of shop fronts with all their wares displayed, tram lines being laid, horses ploughing or children bowling their hoops along the street. Topographical cards also include disasters like floods, earthquakes, fires or tram accidents. People who are researching their family history may well find a church where their ancestors were married.
SUBJECT - Subject postcards are often collected for their visual appeal. It may be a particular style of card that takes your fancy and then you start looking for more or perhaps you already collect something and find postcards are an ideal way of complimenting it. You could have an interest in the first world war so you may like the beautiful embroidered silk postcards that the soldiers used to send home from France. Silk cards with greetings embroidered on them are relatively cheap but other scarcer ones, like regimental badges, can be quite expensive. Silk cards that are made with a flap like an envelope should contain a small greetings card, otherwise they are of little value. Silk postcards are prone to foxing (brown stains due to damp) and such cards should be avoided. Other WW1 postcards could be sets of Daily Mail Battle Pictures, comic postcards or naval pictures. Some people collect cards of a particular artist like Louis Wain for his comic cats or Mabel Lucy Atwell for her cute rosy cheeked children. Steam trains, trams and luxury liners are also particularly popular. Regarding postcards of the ‘Titanic’, pre- disaster cards are scarce and command high prices but later cards are worth considerably less. Under the heading of ‘Novelty’ is a large range of interesting cards which includes hold-to-light, cats with glass eyes, birds with real feathers, mechanical cards, puzzles, kaleidescopes, etc. A few other popular subject cards to mention are Advertising, Animals, Cinema (film stars), Comic including saucy seaside postcards, Glamour including art studies and nudes, Moderns,Motoring, Royalty and Sports. There is something of interest to everybody.
For storing and displaying postcards there is a good selection of postcard albums with clear plastic pockets that are available from many postcard/stamp dealers. A good priced catalogue is also a help in showing what is available and a guide to how much you may have to pay. In most cases you will not find a price for a particular card, rather it will b e a guide price to a range of cards. One of the most popular catalogues is “Picture Postcard Values” published by IPM Promotions.
Next time you are out just have a browse through the postcards at a collectors fair, market stall, car boot sale or this website. I am sure you will find something that will get your interest.
The bit on the end. I once saw a message on the back of a postcard that had been sent from the Isle of Man to Cheshire in 1904 where the sender asked a question then said “…..Please reply by return of post as I must have your answer today.” If mail could be sent and a reply received on the same day in 1904, how is it that with today’s mechanised postal system it would take three days ?
Copyright Richard Farrow 2008. This article may be copied in part or in full if acknowledgement or a link back is given to our online store at www.kollectomania.co.uk the online vintage collectables shop.