What’s the official name for postcard collecting?
Deltiology. Postcards are the third-largest collectible, behind coins and
stamps according to the Flea Market Style magazine. Postcards reflect history
and cultural customs with pictures that depict buildings, travel destinations,
advertising, and photographs of people like your ancestors.
To date old postcards,
therefore getting the approximate date your ancestral photograph might have
been taken, this list gives the general times as to when these types of cards
became available or were popular.
US Post Cards -- to 1898
Private Mailing Cards (1898-1901)
Undivided Back (1901-1907)
Divided Back (1907-1915)
White Border (1915-1930)
Linen (1930-1945)
Chrome (1939-Present)
Real Photo Postcards (1900-Present)
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I guess what instigated my interest in postcards was my Oklahoma grandparent's postcard collection. They had a wonderful card collection that they kept in a big shoebox upstairs in a closet in their old two-story home. I loved looking through it when they lived there. Many of the postcards were from extended family members who sent Christmas postcard greetings, vacation "wish you were here" notes, and some were postcards they had collected from gift shops while on vacation as little mementoes of their trips. Sadly, the whole collection was stolen from the old house just after they moved into their new house in the 1960s while they were shopping in town to pick up groceries. The closest town was 18 miles away, so the thief had plenty of time to get in, look round and take what he/she wanted.
I compiled a "Paper Postcard Unit Study" for our son when he was homeschooled. Click here if you would like to review it.
I learned while researching people for my History Nut of Missouri blog, that the Kansas City Library was gifted a postcard collection from Mrs. Sam (Mildred) Ray, a newspaper columnist who often told a story from a postcard in her collection.
(2017): My hubby and I went to a Postcard Convention in Lenexa several years ago and I could not believe the variety of postcards that were being sold. In addition to the historic genre, they had artsy postcards and papers as well. Check out this website for other shows being held near you. You might just find a missing relative's photo, a photo of their business, the church they attended, or an event they participated in just like the postcard we found on vacation below. This mountain in Colorado was named for one of my hubby's distant Stout cousins, Zebulon Montgomery Pike. To read a short biography of his life, click here.
(2018): I ran across this YouTube video of postcards from Fitchburg, Massachusetts where a girlfriend grew up!
(2022): I contributed to Jim Miller's website some time ago called PHILGEN or Philatelic-Genealogy. It was down for a little while, getting an update to the software. It's back up now.
(2022): Postcard History website
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| D. Noble. Cooper Post Card Co., Colorado Springs, CO, USA. ~~ <> @ <> ~~ Compiled by Dolores J. Rush, Updated: 5/9/2022 |
