How to Start Collecting Postcards

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By dhmelk
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Start Collecting Postcards

Collecting postcards is an interesting and enjoyable hobby. In the early 20th century people didn’t have cameras, so as a way of remembering their travels they purchased postcards. For a penny, postcards were an inexpensive way of communicating with friends and family. As such, there are a lot of postcards out there. It is easy to collect postcards, so get started.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

You first need to figure out what kinds of postcards you want to collect. Is there a particular subject matter that interests you? Postcards with pictures of buildings, cars, trains, airplanes, Indians, hotels, etc? They are all out there. Some people collect cards only from a certain state. Others collect whatever postcards they can get their hands on. The decision is yours. Whatever it is, you will find postcards that satisfy that decision.
Step 2

In addition to subject matter, there are several distinct eras of postcards. You can specialize in one era or collect them all. Among the different era of postcards there is the private mailing card era, 1898 - 1901. These are identified by the words “private mailing card” on the back. The next era was the undivided back era from 1901 - 1907, which had an undivided back. Then came the divided back era from 1907 - 1915. These cards had a divided back. The early modern era with the white border was from 1916 - 1930. The linen card era from 1930 - 1945 was on linen type paper stock. The photochrome era is from 1939 - present. These are postcards as we know them today, glossy pictures. There are several web sites that can provide you with more information( see resources below).
Step 3

Start collecting by finding those postcards that people have sent you and hopefully you haven't thrown away. Another way to begin collecting postcards is to buy them as you travel or have friends and family send them to you as they travel.
Step 4

Estate sales are another great place to find postcards. With an estate sale you are buying someone else's collection and are good places to find older postcard collections. Antique stores are another source of postcards. Many antique stores consist of individual vendor booths and more often then not, there will be a booth that has postcards.
Step 5

On-line auction sites are another source of postcards, as are individual websites that sell postcards. This is a way of looking for and buying specific cards. If you want to get more aggressive in your collecting you can start buying large lots of postcards from the auction sites. In these lots, which can range from 100 - 1000 cards, you will always find a wide assortment of cards.
Step 6

As you build your collection, don't forget to take the time to read the postcards that have been postally used. It gives you a great perspective on people's lives and the times in which they lived.

Comments

lilolladystuff said

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on 11/17/2009 Good article on collecting picture postcards. Thanks.

vintagepostcard said

on 10/11/2009 Topical interests change, so be ready for that. Keep all collected postcards; your interest in a topic may cycle back. Remember, there's no rule that says postcards have to be viewed on a regular basis.