Reading about the publishers, artists, and topics on postcards and Victorian trade cards can be very interesting and enlightening. The historical details uncovered will only serve to increase your interest in and appreciation of history when collecting them. Below you will find useful information, such as:

 

   * Comments welcomed on any blog posting

 

      Four Times Around The Earth On Foot

      Philadelphia Merchant - Death Rather Than Confession

      'til Blue In The Face

      Sip of History With Lion Coffee

 

      Antique and Vintage Postcards:

      Victorian Hangover Cures

      Britain's 1st Artificially Lit Highway

      Sow The Wheat - In Dec?

      Kissing Is Soooo Cute

      The Pudding's On Fire

 

 

 

Airbrush: The application of a mist of colored ink using a small, precise air sprayer under high pressure. This technique added color to non-printed, highly embossed postcards as any ink printed on the surface prior to embossing would crack. It doesn't produce fine detail though. Airbrushing's benefit over the watercolor method was that it caused little damage.

Album Marks: Soiling, discoloration (fading), and/or pressure marks to the corners of postcards. Acid leaching out of the antique album pages, or being held tightly to the album pages for too long causes these marks.

Arcade Cards: Are the same size as postcards, had blank backs, and were made of thicker card stock.  Arcade cards were obtained from penny vending machines usually found in amusement arcades.

Art Deco: A decorative art and architectural style of the period 1925-1940 (revival in 1960s) with an air of affluence and luxury. It is characterized by bold colors, and symmetrical designs such as zigzags, rounded corners, stripes, and simple sweeping curves. The term was never used while the style was in fashion.

Artist Signed: Any postcard that has a printed signature or initials of the artist. This does not mean the artist autographed the postcard. The original artwork was signed, so the signature was reproduced along with the picture. The signature allows a collector to seek out the cards drawn by a specific artist.

Cabinet Card: A style of photograph initially used for landscape views, that was universally adopted for photographic portraiture in 1870. They consisted of a thin photograph generally mounted on cards measuring 4¼ by 6½ inches. Cabinet cards usually included extensive logos and information on the reverse side of the card advertising the photographer’s services.

D.P.O. (or Discontinued Post Office): When a post office ceases to be a public necessity, or it's difficult to find a suitable postmaster, the office is discontinued. The number of post offices peaked in 1901 at 76,945. That number sharply declined in the ensuing decade, due to the spread of rural free delivery. At the end of the fiscal year 2005, there were 27,385 independent post offices. A list of discontinued post offices, by date, can be found via the USPS' Postmaster Finder.

Dry Goods:  Textiles (i.e. fabric) and small items with no large value (sundries) that are distinct from those carried by hardware and grocery stores (i.e. toiletries, notions, etc.).

Embossed: A slightly raised, textured design or pattern pressed into postcards by passing them between engraved metal rolls during manufacture.

Ephemera: Transitory written and printed matter not originally intended to be retained or preserved after it's indended use (i.e. calendars, postcards, trade cards, tickets, valentines).

Foxing: A condition issue of ephemera where brown spotting (mildew) penetrates the paper's surface. It is caused by exposure to high humidity and temperatures, and/or the aging of inks used when originally published. These spots cannot be erased, but may occasionally be removed by bleaching.

Gilding: Art or process of applying a thin layer of simulated gold (in the case of postcards) to a surface. It's used to give postcards a superficially attractive appearance. This process creates an impression seen as a raised surface on the back and is not considered embossing. PFB was one publisher that used this process. They produced two versions of most of their postcards; one with and one without gilding (each with their ow series number). Gilding tends to increase a postcard's value.

Golliwog: A rag doll-like children's literacy character created by Florence Upton in the late 19th century. The golliwog has jet black skin, round/white eyes, and big red lips with wild, woolly hair. It is sometimes described as the blackest of gnomes. This literary character was inspired by a black face minstrel doll Florence had as a child.

Krampus: A goat-faced demon in male form who accompanies St. Nick on his December gift-giving tours. St. Nicholas gave good children presents and Krampus gave bad children warnings and punishment. Tradition has young men dressing up as Krampus the first two weeks of December, particularly December 5th.

Oilette: A term used by Raphael Tuck and Sons which referred to their postcard series that reproduced scenes copied from paintings rather than photographs. Unless of the Oilfasism type, Oilette postcards were not embossed.

Oilfasism: The later Oilettes with an embossed textured surface that simulated the brush strokes of oil paintings.

Postcard: A rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for sending messages without an envelope and at a lower postal rate than a letter. Examples of postcards made of copper, cork, leather, wood, and other materials exist.

R.P.O. (Post Office):

Rotograph (Photography): A process where a strip or roll of sensitized paper is automatically fed over the negative so that a series of prints are made, then developed, fixed, cut apart, and washed at a very fast rate.

Sepia: A colourant prepared from the secretians of the cuttlefish and added to the ink to turn the postcard a dark, red-brownish color. Sepia-tone postcards were published in the 1930s and 1940s to emulate early photographs.

Switch: A slender, flexible rod, stick, or group of twigs. This European tradition gives a switch to bad children at Christmas tied to their Christ bundles (gifts) as a reminder to be good. It is most often seen on postcards of Santa either held by him, or attached to his belt. The Santa postcard on my home page is holding a switch.

Topics: Postcards that are not location oriented, but of subjects such as children in footed pajamas, sundials, cats, golf, etc.

 

 

	Advertising Postcards: Published by businesses to promote products or services they sold. These postcards were not created to be sold, but either given away by hand or sent in mass mailings. Today, they are usually referred to as junk mail. This one advertised Palmer garments for spring and summer in 1914 for James Hart & Sons, MN.     Arcade Cards: Postcard-sized images dispensed from penny arcade vending machines. They were normally printed on one side only, and showed black and white or tinted portraits or action photos of film, western/sports stars, show girls, bathing beauties, fortune telling, etc. Some had coupons on the back that could be redeemed for things like watch fobs, magic tricks, photos, pocket pieces, etc.
	Busy Person's Correspondence Postcards: A postcard, usually humorous, that saved the sender writing time. They included quick choices for the sender in the form of a checklist of sentiments and greetings.     Chrome (or Photochrome) Postcards: Any card after 1939 with a glossy, color, photo image. They were introduced by the Union Oil Co. and easily produced.
	Copper Postcards: made from rolls of very thin copper, cut to size, and folded around a blank postcard. Images are stamped in black paint on the copper covered card, then lacquered. This type postcard would have to be mailed in a protective envelope, as the postal machines would dent the copper and ruin the picture. Gregorian Inc. of South Dakota and Kopper Kard of Utah sell this type postcard. **picture courtesy of Curtis Gidding Stamp Store
	Copper Window Postcards: Flat printed view cards with copper metallic paint applied to the windows of the building, making them shine under reflected light. The results simulated hold-to light postcards.
	Cork Postcards:
	Coupon Cards: Postcards published by a newspaper that could be acquired by redeeming coupons found in that same newspaper. They were usually published on a weekly basis as a promotional gimmick from 1904 to 1910.
	Deek Postcards: A type of puzzle postcard that changed from one view to another simply by tilting the picture. This was sometimes achieved with a small paper tab across the bottom of the postcard.
	Die-cut Postcards: A postcard (or part of one) cut by the publisher into a shape other than a rectangle. The edges on these postcards are fragile like lace and easily tear. The postcard to the left had the area around the trees and holly cut so the purple/snowy background showed thru. The resultant effect gives the postcard a look of depth.
	Fade Away Postcards: A puzzle-type postcard where part of the image is missing. A person is required to imagine what the missing areas would look like. The postcard to the left was published by Stecher Lith. Co., series no. 506.
	Government Postal: A postcard with a preprinted stamp on the back. The government post office produced/issued these postcards. Notice the fancy US letters underneath the postal card banner. Publishers used them to print designs and advertising messages. They were especially used before the Act of Congress 1898. The card pictured to the left I inherited from my great uncle's estate. It wasn't used until 1977, had a blank back, and was non-standard in size (3"x5").
	Heat Sensitive Postcards: This type postcard changes color when touched.
	Hold to Light Postcards: A postcard that creates a different image when held to the light. Some are as simple as day into night, while others as complicated as winter into summer. There are two types, die-cut and transparencies.
	Hold to Light Transparency Postcards: A type of Hold to Light postcard that creates it's transformation with many thin layers of paper. A total change in image is caused by strong light behind the postcard. There are no die-cut holes in the surface to achieve this transformation.
	Installment Postcards: A series of postcards designed to be sent one a day. The complete set came in it's own envelope and formed one picture, either vertical or horizontal. I have the Franz Huld Santa installment set in my personal collection, but without it's envelope.
	Large Letter Postcards: Postcard that show the name of a place in very big letters that have pictures inside each letter. Postcards without pictures inside the letters are refered to as Big Letter Postcards.     Linen Postcards: Postcards published in the late 20's thru 50's using a textured paper having a cross hatched surface that resembled linen fabric. Undesirable features (i.e. telephone poles, background clutter, and sometimes people and cards, etc.) were removed by airbrushing.
	Mechanical Postcards: A type of novelty postcard with moving parts. It may be a simple as a die-cut top revealing a different idea of the previous image when opened, or as complicated as pulling a tab to totally change the picture. Some mechanicals had wheels that changed the dates on a calendar.  The postcard to the left was published by J.J. Marks in 1912.
	Miniature Postcards: These postcards were done as a novelty during the golden age of postcards (1898 to 1918). They were about 1/2 the size of the standard 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" postcard. They had stamp boxes and were often postally used like regular sized postcards. The postcard to the left was published by John Winsch.
	Newspaper Postcards: These cards were sent free in the Sunday papers around the US. They were clipped out of the newspaper with scissors, so wasn't standard in size. The card stock was also thinner due to being cut from newspaper. This one was compliments of the NY Sunday American & Journal. It features a Buster Brown, Mary Jane, and Tige design by R.F. Outcault copyrighted in 1906.
	Novelty Postcards: These postcards included mechanicals, those beyond standard size, ones printed on unusual substances (cork, copper, leather, wood, etc), or with items attached (i.e. bags of salt, real hair, feathers, metal medallions, sequins, glitter, ribbons, felt pennants, miniature envelopes, silk, pennies, etc.). This one is a type of novelty postcard called metal attached. The leaf and greeting were attached with what looked like very small, round headed, metal brads.
	Penny Postcards:
	Pioneer Postcards: Postcards issued before the Act of Congress in 1898. Most had images printed on the back of government postal cards and could be mailed for 1 cent; private postal cards required two cents. They carry instructions, such as "Write the address only on this side - the message on the other", or "Nothing but address can be placed on this side", or "This side for address only".
	Puzzle Postcards: In the USA, it refers to postcards with hidden pictures, are jigsaw puzzles, rebus postcards, or anything with a puzzle to solve. This one asks, "What is nice than a pretty girl?" The answer lies in the squished letters at the bottom (I have yet to solve this one, lol).
	QSL Postcards: QSL stands for Station Verification Report. These cards were sent by one ham radio operator to another to confirm a radio contact. They contain information that only means something to a ham radio operator.  Some were professionally printed and some were made by hand.
	Real Photo Postcards: Real photo is a term used to distinguish between commercially printed photographic images and an actual photograph printed on photograph paper with a preprinted postcard back. Real photo postcards are more desirable as most were one of a kind, while commercially printed photographic images were produced in large quantity. This one is unused, but can be dated by the stamp box (AZO with 4 triangles pointed up) as being from sometime between 1904 - 1918.
	Rebus Postcards: A type of puzzle postcard on which words, phrases, or sentences are represented by pictures of objects. When their names are sounded in sequence, the solution is revealed.
	Short Timers Postcards: These were regular postcards, typically with a patriotic theme. There was a circle where one was supposed to write the number of "days short". People in the military typically sent these cards, which's why many have a patriotic theme.
	Silk Postcards: A type of novelty postcard where silk fabric is applied to the design. A silk postcard could also be printed on silk fabric, then attached to a postcard back. This type postcard can easily fray and soil, so shouldn't be touched by hands too much. It should be kept in a safe, Mylar sleeve.
	Squeaker Postcards: A type of postcard when squeezed, produced a squeaky sound. The squeaker mechanism was sandwiched between two layers of thick card stock, so was thicker than normal. A small hole was placed in the card's back to expel air. Unfortunately, this squeaker no longer squeaks.
	Talking Postcards: A type of novelty postcard invented in 1903 that played a message or short tune in the form of a record. They were also known as gramophone cards.
	Vinegar Valentine: An insult card often sent anonymously to someone the sender disliked. It was decorated with a caricature that had an insulting poem below it.

 

 

 

As many postcard collectors know, soil/stains/foxing, edge tears, worn/rounded corners, creases/bends, and mold are a few of the deteriorations that can occur to postcards, will weaken them, and are irreversible. There are steps a postcard collector can and should take to prevent deterioration from happening or getting worse. Below you will find recommended steps to help a collector preserve and enjoy their collection for years to come.

Recommendations for Preserving A Postcard Collection:

1. The best protection for a collection is a cool, dry environment with little fluctuation in temperature and humidity. This is because heat and moisture accelerate postcard deterioration. High humidity can lead to foxing or mold growth. According to the Library of Congress, storage below 72 degrees, with 35% humidity is recommended.

2. Too bright a light, too long an exposure to light, or exposure to light with a high UV (ultra violet) will also deteriorate postcards faster causing fading, yellowing, and brittleness. This is why a collector should never display postcards in or near sunlight for very long. Keep collections in the dark as much as possible (except when taken out for viewing enjoyment of course).

3. Consider steps 1 and 2 when deciding where to store your collection. Avoid attics and basements as they're known to have excessive heat and/or moisture problems. Also avoid storing collections near water sources, including air-conditioning equipment. Keep in mind what is in the room above and below a collection. Don't display or store a collection near heat sources (i.e. fireplaces, heat ducts/vents, etc.). Hallways and rooms without windows are a good place to display collections.

4. Hands should be clean and dry before handling postcards. Also, avoid having food and/or drinks in the area of the collection to reduce damage from accidental spills.

5. Archival quality albums, boxes, and sleeves exist that will protect postcards from skin oils (which can cause staining on postcards), water damage, and other deteriorations.

• Plastics used in postcard sleeves, both soft and rigid, have added chemicals that will eventually break down and harm a postcard. There are archival quality albums, and sleeves that are free from these chemicals. Two types of materials used to make them are polyester (known as Mylar), and uPVC (unplasticized polyvinylchloride). Note, "acid-free" is a characteristic of papers, not plastics.
  
  
• Use boxes to store postcards if not using an album. Make sure they don't have handle holes and lids are snug. Handle holes negate protection from water damage and other pollutants (i.e. ozone, fumes, smoke). It would be like an open window in a car during a rainstorm. Also, make sure boxes are low-lignin or lignin-free, and buffered. Lignin is a paper component that leads to acid formation. Buffered is the process of adding a buffer during manufacturing to neutralize acids as they form over time in the storage materials.
  
  
• If an album is used to store a postcard collection, the pockets of the archival quality album pages shouldn't be a tight fit. Inserting and removing postcards from page pockets increases the risk of creases, bends, and bumped corners (especially form tight pockets). The pocket openings should be on the inside facing the album rings to prevent accidentally falling out and potentially damaging the postcard. Don't store postcards back-to-back in the same pocket due to the increased chance of trapped moisture. Not storing back-to-back also exposes the postcard back, which is sometimes just as interesting as the front (pre-printed images/advertising/DPO postmarks/etc.).

6. Don't stack postcards as that causes damage to embossing due to the weight of other postcards on top of them. Postcard albums should be stored upright for this reason.

7. Be careful not to fill boxes too full, making it difficult to remove or insert postcards. Difficulty inserting or removing postcards is just asking to add a bend and/or crease to a postcard. On the other hand, boxes that are too empty have a tendency to cause postcards to curl (like slouching in a chair). Add filler for support in that case.

One last tip: If one wishes to frame a postcard, be sure to ask for museum mounting! If the shop doesn't know what that is, go to another store. Museum mounting will help protect your postcard from indoor pollutants and dirt, a growing problem in energy-conscious spaces with good insulation. Also, be sure the shop uses UV filtering glazing (glass) in the frames.

Be sure to let your fellow postcard collector friends know about this helpful guide.