Collecting Postcards





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Collecting Postcards Part 4 – Divided Back - Post Cards
by Glyn Farber

Early postal regulations permitted only the name and address of the recipient on backs of postcards. Messages on the front often defaced the image. By 1907 the United States Postal Service began to permit the use of what is now called a divided back Post Card. The back of the postcard had a line down the middle to provide space for both the address and a message.

This new regulation and others in the early 1900s started a national obsession in this country that lasted for almost two decades. American's were buying postcards at the rate of more than 700 million a year and it seems that they were saving most of them. Often putting them in albums and scrapbooks. Most homes in the United States had a special place for postcards, usually the parlor.

A number of beautiful and pleasing postcards were made in Germany and Austria, where fine color reproduction was less expensive than elsewhere. Many postcards bearing the names of American publishers were printed abroad. Wherever their postcards were printed, American publishers continued to strive for unique topics such as town views and birthday greeting postcards. Now picture postcards were more than just a means of communication. They provided a portrait of life in America during the first two decades of the twentieth century.

In 1913, American's bought over 900 million postcards. However, by 1914 postcard usage suddenly came to a halt due in part to four reasons. (1) German printers dominated the postcard manufacturing business until the enactment of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff which in effect cut off low cost imported postcards, along with many other goods. (2) American printers did not have the same printing technology that the German's possessed. (3) The arrival and introduction of low cost folded greeting cards with envelopes. and (4) World War 1.

The end of the "Golden Age" of postcards (1901-1915) ushered in the American "White Border Era".

Glyn Farber has published a catalog of all known Hickey Brother Cigar Store Tokens and co-authored a book about Louisiana Trade Tokens. In addition he wrote several articles for The Token and Medal Society (TAMS) and The National Token Collectors Association (NTCA). Glyn has been a devoted collector of Louisiana Trade Tokens, Louisiana collectibles and Lake Charles, LA postcards for almost 40 years.

Find out more information about divided back postcards, Collectibles and Trade Tokens at his web sites http://www.most-popular-collectibles-at-auction.com and http://www.louisiana-trade-tokens.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glyn_Farber

More Collecting Postcard Articles:

  • Collecting Postcards – Postal Cards
    A postal card is a type of postcard that was first released by the United States Postal Service in 1873.
  • Collecting Postcards – Post Card Era
    By 1902, the postcard industry was off and running, and so was the hobby of collecting postcards.
  • Collecting Postcards – Private Mailing Cards
    On May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which allowed private printers and publishers to produce postcards.
  • Collectible Post Cards
    Collecting post cards is a fun hobby, and one of the most interesting things to collect are photo post card collectibles.
  • Collectible Post Cards on eBay
    For just about anything you can think of, someone somewhere collects it, and they are probably searching eBay right now for what they want. So whatever kind of postcard you are collecting, buying or selling on eBay can help you add to your collection or generate the money while getting rid of postcards you don't need.
  • Collectors Guide to Real Photo Postcards
    Real photo postcards are actual photographs that have been printed in a darkroom on postcard paper. Cards that are based on real photos but are printed by lithography or other methods are not considered real photo postcards.

More Postcard Articles:

Other Collecting Postcards Sites:

Antique Postcards at thepostcard.com - Antique & Collectible
Old Antique, Collectible & Modern Postcards for Sale

Post Card Images - Antique Postcards on Magnets
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SANTALADY's Antique Santa Post Cards and Related Traditions
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VintagePostcards.com: Vintage Postcards for Collectors.
Offering quality vintage postcards for collectors of art, history, memorabilia, antiques, photography, topicals and the postcard.




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