Some old postcards are too beautiful to disappear into a single album. A crisp real photo of a small-town main street, a glowing linen roadside scene or an embossed holiday greeting can look wonderful on a wall, or become part of a journal, a scrapbook or a craft project. So alongside the original cards I sell, I'm putting together a collection of framed prints and digital scans made from the very best cards I find.
What's coming
Framed prints. Selected cards, scanned at high resolution, cleaned up with care and printed as framed wall art. Each print is made to order by a professional print lab and shipped directly to you, so it arrives ready to hang.
Digital scan bundles. Themed sets of high-resolution scans you download and use yourself: for junk journals, scrapbooks, collage, cards, home printing and other personal projects. Bundles are grouped by subject, era or place, such as Halloween greetings, linen roadside stops, real photo main streets or early holiday cards.
Both will be sold through an Etsy shop, which I'm setting up now. When it's open, this page will link straight to it.
Where the images come from
Every print and every scan comes from an original postcard that I own and have scanned myself. I choose the cards for the quality of the image: sharp detail, good contrast, interesting subjects and the kind of color that only old printing produces. Most cards don't make the cut, which is the point. The goal is a small collection of images that genuinely look good large.
The original cards themselves are sold separately, through my eBay store, and each one is described in full in the catalog on this site.
Clearly marked as reproductions
Collectors care a great deal about the difference between an original card and a copy, and so do I. Prints and scans are reproductions, and they will always be sold as reproductions:
- Every listing says so in its title and description.
- Prints are labeled as reproductions of a vintage postcard, with the approximate date of the original.
- Digital files are described as scans of an original card, never as the card itself.
- Originals and reproductions are sold in different places: original cards on eBay, prints and scans on Etsy, so there's no confusion about which is which.
If you're buying an original card for a collection, my guide on how to spot a reproduction postcard explains how to tell the difference.
Only images that are free to reproduce
I only make prints and scans from cards that are in the public domain. In the United States, works published in 1930 or earlier are now in the public domain, and many later cards published without a copyright notice are too. Cards with a copyright notice from later years, and cards where a still-active brand or attraction is the main subject, stay as originals only. When a card's status isn't clear, I leave it out. That keeps the collection honest for buyers and fair to the original publishers.
How the scans are made
The difference between a good print and a disappointing one starts with the scan. For prints and digital bundles, I scan each card flat on a flatbed scanner at a much higher resolution than I use for listing photos, so the fine detail of a real photo or the texture of a linen card survives enlargement.
Old postcards are small, and not every one can be enlarged without losing quality. Printed cards, which are made of tiny dots of ink, start to show that dot pattern when they're blown up too far. Real photo postcards, which are actual photographs, usually enlarge best. So print sizes are chosen card by card to suit the original, rather than offering every image in every size.
Restored and as-found versions
Most old cards carry a little damage: dust, small creases, corner wear, faded areas. For prints, I gently clean up distracting flaws like dust spots and scratches so the image itself is what you see. Some people prefer a card exactly as it survived, with its age showing. Where it makes sense, I'll offer both an as-found version and a cleaned-up version of the same image, and each listing will say which is which.
The originals are never altered. All the cleanup happens on the digital scan.
Ideas for using them
Hometown gifts. A framed print of a main street, a depot, a school or a church makes a thoughtful gift for someone who grew up in a place or has moved away from it. Old views of a town often spark stories and memories in a way a modern photograph doesn't.
Kitchens, cabins and offices. Linen roadside scenes, lake resorts and mountain views suit relaxed spaces, and a set of three related prints makes a simple gallery wall.
Holidays. Early Halloween and Christmas greetings are some of the most charming images of the postcard era, and a framed set brings them out every season.
Journals and crafts. Digital bundles are made for junk journaling, scrapbooking, decoupage, collage and card making. You can print the same image as many times as you need for your own projects without wearing out an original card.
Family history. If your research has taken you to a particular town, a print of an old view can sit alongside family photographs and documents.
How the digital bundles work
Each bundle is a set of image files that you download from Etsy as soon as you buy it. There's nothing physical to ship and nothing to wait for. Every listing explains exactly what's included, the size of the files, and how the images may be used, so you can check that a bundle suits your project before you buy.
The files are high-resolution scans, large enough to print cleanly at the sizes the listing describes. If you print at home, matte or textured papers often suit old postcard images better than glossy photo paper, and printing a test sheet first helps you get the colors the way you like them.
How the framed prints work
Framed prints are made to order. When you buy one, a professional print lab prints the image, frames it and ships it to you. Because each print is made only when it's ordered, there's no warehouse of old stock, and the lab handles the printing, framing and delivery directly. Every listing gives the print size, frame style and expected delivery time.
If a print ever arrives damaged or with a printing fault, Etsy's purchase protections and the print lab's own quality guarantee cover it, and I'll help make it right.
Caring for a framed print
A print will look its best for years with a little care:
- Hang it out of direct sunlight. Strong daylight fades any printed image over time, old or new. A wall that never gets direct sun is ideal.
- Avoid damp rooms and heat. Bathrooms, unventilated basements and the wall above a radiator or wood stove are hard on paper and frames alike.
- Dust gently. A soft, dry cloth is all a frame needs. Never spray cleaner directly onto the glazing; apply it to the cloth instead.
- Give it a little air. A frame hung flush against a cold outside wall can collect moisture behind it. Small bumpers on the back corners let air circulate.
- Rotate seasonal prints. Holiday prints that come out once a year spend most of their time stored flat, in the dark, which helps them last.
When it opens
I'll announce the shop on the blog, so following the blog by RSS is the easiest way to hear when it's open.
I'm scanning the first cards now. The shop will open with a small, carefully chosen set of prints and bundles and grow from there as the best cards come through. Until then, you can:
- Browse the original cards in the catalog and see where to buy them.
- Read the collector's notes about the eras, publishers and kinds of cards the prints will come from, such as linen postcards, real photo postcards and vintage Halloween postcards.
- Follow along on the blog, where new posts go up every week.
Questions
Are the prints and scans the same as the original postcards?
No. They're reproductions made from scans of original cards. If you want an original, the cards themselves are sold through my eBay store.
Can I use the digital scans in something I sell?
That depends on the bundle, and each listing will say exactly what's allowed. Please check the listing before using the images in anything commercial.
What sizes will the prints come in?
Sizes are chosen card by card. Because postcards are small to begin with, most images look best in modest sizes, roughly 8 by 10 to 11 by 14 inches, where the detail stays sharp. A few especially crisp real photo cards may go larger. Each listing shows the sizes that particular image supports.
Why not just buy the original card and frame it?
You can, and many people do. A print has a few advantages: it can be larger than the original, it can hang in a sunny room without risking a hundred-year-old card, and the same image can be given to several family members at once.
Can I request a particular card as a print?
When the shop is open, I'm glad to hear suggestions. If a card is public domain, sharp enough to enlarge and something people would enjoy on a wall, it may well become a print.
Will you make prints of my own family's postcards?
I'm not able to scan or print cards for other people. The prints and scans come only from cards in my own collection.