By Colleen Allison You've purchased a few cards, but how do you know when they were made? Used postcards are easy to date - just check the postmark. But that is only helpful if the postmark is legible. The next step is to check for copyright date. And what about the picture on the card - does it give you a clue to when the card was created? For example, a postcard of the Empire State building was surely made after 1931. If you are still in the dark about the card's age, then you'll have to check out the text on the card and the card's style. If it says 'Private Mailing Card', then it dates between 1898 and 1901. Undivided cards marked "Post Card" or "Postcard" were created between 1901 and 1907. These cards have a picture and message on one side, and the address on the other. You weren't allowed to have your message on the side with the stamp! In March of 1907, the Postal Service lightened up and allowed you to write a message on the stamp-side of the card. These were called divided back cards. If you find a divided back card that doesn't have a uniform white border around the picture side, then it was most likely made between 1907 and 1915. In 1915, divided back cards with a white border around the picture came into popularity. In 1930, the linen card was introduced. These postcards were made with a textured paper that resembled linen. Don't be confused, though - some linen cards were also printed with white borders. Linen was the predominant type of postcard sold until 1945, when
the chrome postcard was introduced. These were the same, glossy
photos that we see on today's postcards, but they were a smaller
size - typically 3.5 x 5.5 inches. Since about 1970, postcards are
printed in a 4x6 size. I didn't cover all the possible types of postcards. For more information, take a look at these helpful websites: http://bibliomania.net/gruetzcards.html |