How to Collect Postcards

You can call yourself a deltiologist - that's a postcard collector. They say it's the third largest collectible hobby in the world. Why? Postcards are inexpensive, cover thousands of subjects and have been around awhile. In fact, they date back to 1869. Got any that old?

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Acid-free Boxes
• Postcards
• Postcards

1. Decide what kind of collection you want. Pigs? Places you've been? Cards with foreign postmarks? World War II era? Foods?

2. Pick a theme and let your friends and family know about it. Because postcards are cheap and easy to find, you'll find it won't be long before you have an admirable collection.

3. Get serious about collecting and join a collector's club or hang out at antique stores and online auctions for those hard-to-locate ones.

4. Keep your cards in acid-free, archival-quality sleeves made of polyethylene or Mylar.

5. Avoid PVC and cheap plastic sleeves, which can leave marks or stick to your cards. Never store them loose in a plastic box.

6. Display your postcards out of direct sunlight. They can and will fade.

[KindheartedSir]

on 12/30/2008 I really dislike the old shoebox collection method, nor any other type of box. May I suggest the three ring binder method as described in "How to Enjoy and Display Your Post Card Collection."

on 11/22/2005 Most postcards are about 50 cents, but as your collection grows you may find that the expense will also grow. Set aside a certain amount of money each month for your collection. I use $10.00. If you have a friend or family member who is going someplace, ask them if they would mind getting you a postcard or two. One more thing, always look around at airports! Many U.S. airports carry postcards not only from that location, but from other states as well. Happy Collecting!

on 11/22/2005 Ask for old postcards from your relatives. You'll be amazed by the pictures you might find, not only old ones but also good ones. You can have a special place for these old postcards in your album collector.

on 11/22/2005 When you remind your friends that you have a postcard collection, they take care to pick out special postcards to send to you when they travel. They appreciate that you're not going to toss them out as soon as you read them.

on 11/22/2005 On family trips, we send ourselves postcards. This adds to our postcard collection and we have them to remember the cool places we've been. We've got postcards from family trips of five generations.