Collector's notes

Why I write these

Every old postcard leaves a trail of clues: the layout of the back, the brand in the stamp box, a publisher's code, a postage rate, a postmark, a sign in a shop window. Learning to read those clues is the most satisfying part of collecting, and it's also what lets me describe my cards accurately.

These notes are the method I actually use. They're written for collectors, family historians, people who've inherited a box of cards and want to know what they have, and anyone who simply likes old pictures. I'll add more as I go: publishers, topics, the large-letter "Greetings from" cards, and how to read faded postmarks.

A collector's glossary

Postcard collecting has its own vocabulary, and dealer listings use it constantly. These are the terms you'll meet most often, in my listings and everyone else's.

Card types and eras

Deltiology. The formal name for collecting postcards. A collector is a deltiologist.

Pioneer card. A view card from before 1898, when privately printed cards still had to pay the letter rate. They're scarce.

Private mailing card. A card printed between 1898 and 1901 under the Act of Congress that let private publishers mail cards at the penny rate, as long as they carried the words "Private Mailing Card."

Undivided back. A card from about 1901 to 1907, when the whole back was reserved for the address. Messages had to go on the front.

Divided back. A card with a line down the middle of the back, message on the left, address on the right. Allowed in the United States from March 1, 1907.

White border. A card with a white frame around the picture, typical of about 1915 to 1930.

Linen. A card printed on paper with a fine woven texture, in bright inks, from about 1931 into the early 1950s.

Chrome or photochrome. A glossy, full-color photographic card, from 1939 onward. The term "Photochrom" (no e) also refers to an earlier, quite different color process used by the Detroit Publishing Company.

Continental. The larger, roughly 4 by 6 inch size that became common in later decades, as opposed to the standard 3.5 by 5.5 inch card.

RPPC. Real photo postcard: an actual photograph developed on postcard-backed paper. See my guide to real photo postcards.

Printing and production

Halftone. A printing method that breaks an image into tiny dots. Under a magnifier, dots mean a printed card, not a photograph.

Lithograph. A printed card made from inked stones or plates, used for many of the finest early color cards, often printed in Germany before the First World War.

Hand-colored. A black-and-white image with color added by hand or by stencil, common on early views.

Publisher's code. A number or letter code printed on the card by the publisher. Curt Teich codes are the best known, and they can date a card to the year.

Stamp box. The small printed rectangle where the stamp goes. On real photos it usually carries the photographic paper's brand, which helps with dating.

Novelty card. Any card with an unusual material or feature: leather, wood, aluminum, silk, glitter, fold-out panels, or hold-to-light cards with cut-out windows that glow when held up to a lamp.

Large letter. A design that spells out a place name in big block letters, each letter filled with a scene, usually reading "Greetings from." Most are linens.

Exaggeration card. A trick photograph showing giant vegetables, enormous fish or jackrabbits the size of horses, popular in the farm states in the early 1900s.

Multiview. A card showing several small views of one town or resort on a single front.

Postal terms

Postally used. The card went through the mail: it has a stamp and a postmark. "Unused" or "unposted" means it didn't.

Postmark. The mark showing where and when the card was mailed. The date is the latest possible printing date, not the printing date itself.

Cancel. The marking that defaces the stamp so it can't be reused. Collectors of postal history study cancel types, from hand stamps to machine cancels with wavy lines or flags.

DPO. Discontinued post office. A postmark from a town whose post office has closed, which can make an otherwise ordinary card collectible to postal historians.

RFD. Rural Free Delivery, the service that brought mail to farms. RFD markings appear on many early cards from the countryside.

Receiving mark. A second postmark applied by the destination post office, common in the early 1900s.

Condition terms

Corner wear. Rounding or softening at the corners, the most common flaw on old cards.

Crease. A fold line that has broken the surface. More serious than a bend, which doesn't break the surface.

Album marks. Marks, slits or residue from an old photo album, often at the corners.

Toning. Overall yellowing or browning of the paper with age.

Foxing. Small brown spots caused by age and damp.

Silvering. A metallic sheen in the dark areas of an old real photo, as silver migrates to the surface.

Trimmed. A card that has been cut down at the edges, often to fit an album. Trimming lowers the value.

How to start a postcard collection

Most collections start by accident: a box inherited from a relative, a handful of cards bought at an estate sale, a single view of a hometown that sparks curiosity. If you'd like to turn that into a real collection, a little focus goes a long way.

Pick a theme

Postcards were printed by the billion, so nobody collects everything. Most collectors choose a theme and build it over years. Popular choices include:

• One place. Your hometown, your county, or your state. Place collections are the most common, and they have a way of turning into local history projects.
• One subject. Railroad depots, lighthouses, covered bridges, courthouses, diners, county fairs, ships or schools.
• One publisher or photographer. Some collectors hunt every card from a single publisher or a single real photo studio.
• One era or style. Large-letter linens, early lithographed greetings, hold-to-light novelties, or 1950s motel chromes.
• One holiday. Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day and Fourth of July greetings from the early 1900s are a world of their own.

Learn as you buy

The best way to learn is to look closely at every card you buy: read the back, find the publisher, date it using the clues, and compare it with others. My dating guide is a good companion for that. Over time you'll start to recognize publishers at a glance, spot real photos instantly, and know what's common and what's scarce in your theme.

Buy the best condition you can afford

Within a theme, a clean card is always worth more than a worn one, and it will always be easier to sell or trade later. That said, a rare view in fair condition is often a better buy than a common view in excellent condition. Scarcity first, then condition.

Store cards safely

Keep cards in archival sleeves or albums made without PVC, in a box away from light, heat and damp. Avoid rubber bands, paper clips, tape and glue. Never store cards in an attic or basement.

Keep notes

Write down what you paid, where you found each card, and anything you learn about it. A simple spreadsheet is enough. Years from now, those notes will be part of the collection's value, and its story.

Publishers you'll see often

A few names turn up again and again on the backs of American view cards. Recognizing them helps with dating, and some collectors build whole collections around a single publisher.

• Curt Teich & Co., Chicago. One of the largest American postcard printers, best known for linens and large-letter cards. Its printed codes can date a card to the year, and its archive is held by the Newberry Library in Chicago.
• Detroit Publishing Company. High-quality early views, many made with the Swiss "Photochrom" color process and sold as "Phostint" cards.
• Raphael Tuck & Sons, London. A British firm whose artistic views and greeting cards were sold widely in America in the early 1900s.
• E. C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee. A major Midwestern printer of view cards from the early 1900s through the linen years.
• Tichnor Brothers, Boston. A prolific printer of linen and chrome view cards, especially of New England and tourist stops.
• Hugh C. Leighton Co., Portland, Maine. Many early New England views, often printed in Germany.
• Dexter Press and Mike Roberts. Two of the best-known names on glossy photochrome cards from the 1950s and 60s.

Many view cards were also published for local merchants, such as a town's drugstore, stationer or general store, whose name appears on the back. Those small local runs are often the scarcest cards of all.

Postcard sizes

Most American postcards from the 1890s through the 1960s measure about 3.5 by 5.5 inches, the standard size. Larger "continental" cards, about 4 by 6 inches, took over in later decades, so size alone can separate an early chrome from a later one. Oversized novelty cards, panoramic fold-outs and small "court" cards also turn up, mostly from the early years. Measure before you buy sleeves: a continental card won't fit a standard sleeve.

Where to go from here

If you're new to old postcards, start with how to date an old postcard. It walks through the back designs, stamp boxes, publisher codes and postmarks in the order I check them. Then read real photo postcards, explained to learn how to spot a real photograph in seconds, and why small-town real photos are so prized. When you're ready to look for cards, my where to buy page explains how my listings are organized and how to search them.