Picture Postcards Are Family Treasures

 Postcards have been around since 1861, and there are several different types. Vintage postcards are highly collected by fans. Deltiologists who study and collect postcards are serious about their collections. Libraries, historical and genealogical societies, other organizations, and private individuals collect them. Antique and vintage postcards can be purchased from online dealers, flea markets, antique stores, and private collections. 

For our purposes, we will talk about real photograph postcards or RPs. Around 1900, photography had grown into a popular hobby for many people, and the latest craze was sending a postcard with a photograph printed on the back. These are called real photograph postcards; the word “real” was used to explain that the postcard started as a photographic negative. They were reproduced by developing them onto photographic paper, using the size and weight of postcards with a postcard backing.  

In the beginning, postal service regulations required no writing on the address side of postcards. In 1907, the regulations changed so that the postcards had a dividing line where the address could be written on the right side and a message on the left side. This is called the divided-back era.

This is a photo of the back of my picture postcard from my great-grandmother in 1912. The stamp is almost worn off. Author photograph collection. 

From about 1915 to 1930, to save ink, most postcards were printed with a white border, also called “White Border Postcards.” After 1930, the new printing processes used colored ink and a high rag substance that gave a linen-like finish to the photographs. This process, called the Linen Era, lasted until about 1944. 

 After 1944, known as the Photochrome Era, real photographic postcards declined and gave way to the postcards we know today as the tourist-type cards we send while on vacation. 

Here is a brief guide if you own real photo postcards and need help to date them. This information only includes some things you need to know about identifying and dating them. There is a lot of information on the Internet on how to identify and date them. 

First, check the stamp price in the stamp box on the card. Postal rates steadily rose over the years. The stamp price for mailing cards between 1898 and 1917 was one cent. It rose to two cents from 1917 to 1958. From 1958 to 1962, it cost three cents; from 1963 to 1967, postage rose to four cents. From 1968 to May 1971, the cost rose to a nickel. 

Very little of the one-cent stamp is left on this picture postcard, dated 1912. Author photograph collection.

If your photo postcard has no stamp attached, check the border around the stamp box on the postcard. If the postcards were produced on Kodak paper, known as “AZO,” they had unique borders during special years. From 1904 to 1918, some borders had four triangles pointing up. From 1907 to 1909, the stamp box border had diamonds in the corners. From 1918 to 1930, some borders had two triangles pointing up and two pointing down. From 1922 through 1926, borders might have empty corners. Finally, from 1926 through the 1940s, the stamp box borders had squares in the corners. 

 Please note that other papers can be used to produce real photo postcards, and I am using the most popular, AZO. 

This is my cherished picture postcard with my beloved great-grandmother holding her son. Author photograph collection. 

Ancestry.com has an extensive photograph collection on its website. It offers real photograph postcards of people, hometowns, cities, homes, historic places, and businesses. As of this writing, there are over 200,000 in the collection. 

Suppose you are interested in learning more about real photograph postcards. The Internet has tons of information about societies and associations dealing with postcards of all subjects. Dealers are constantly on the hunt for collectibles.

Sources: “Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs,” by Maureen A. Taylor. (Cincinnati, OH: F&W Publications, 2005).