Research

Hats have been popular from the earliest of days of fashion, tracing back before the Egyptians,
but the role of the hat in fashion never became as noticeably apparent as during the Victorian
and Edwardian era.

About 1870, Victorian fashion dictated the dress of the day. Long hair was seen as improper in public.
To rectify this, only tightly wound to the head so as to not be noticeable to the opposite sex and giving
the "wrong" impression. Hats were designed to hide the hair and draw attention away from the body towards the face. Hair showing under one's hat diminished the sweet, pure attitudes the Victorians desired, especially for their daughters. Parents could not secure the "right" husband for their daughters
without the proper look.  read more »

Sizes
Continental size: 4X6 inches (15 cm X 10.5 cm) Many of the new cards you purchase today are of this size. Mostly published after the 1940's.

Regular (or Standard) size: 3 1/2 X 5 1/2 (9 cm X 14 cm) Many of the older cards are of this size.

Oversized: Anything larger than a continental size. Mostly 5X7 inches, but some can be found in larger sizes. Although this size of cards is popular with postcard companies and tourists, many collectors do not want them because they are more expensive, not easily filed, cost more to mail, and harder to trade with others. The advantage is of course the more detailed view of the scenes shown on the cards.

Modern size: These are about 6 1/2 X 4 3/4 inches. They are often classified as a smaller type of oversized card.

Postcard Types

View Cards
View cards have, since postcards began, been the mainstay of the collecting field. People have long collected and traded cards of their home towns and places they have visited. View cards offer historic reference to buildings, streets, and even towns which may no longer exist or that have changed significantly over time. Even views produced in the photochrome (chrome) era may no longer look the same. The earliest cards offer much in the social history of the times as we look at early forms of travel and the beginnings of telegraph, telephone and power lines. The messages written on the cards often give us insight as to the picture shown or the sentiments of the day.

Greeting Cards  read more »

Albumen Print - An image printed on paper using egg albumen (the white of an egg) mixed along with whey (derived from curdled milk). The albumen and whey is boiled, filtered, and then mixed with grains of iodide potassium. These prints usually show a brown, yellow, or purple tone. Almost all albumen prints are done on very thin paper and then mounted to cardboard. This process was very common in the last half of the 19th century and was used most on cabinet cards.

Album Marks - Discoloration or heavy indentations on the corners of the cards from the acid, leaching out of the antique album pages, or from weight.

Archival - Any museum quality material that will protect postcards for extended periods of time.

Artist Signed - Any postcard that has a printed signature of the illustrator. This does not mean that the postcard artist autographed the card, although examples do exist. If the publisher has printed a byline clearly identifying who did the work, the card is considered artist signed.

Cabinet Card - A simple term used to describe a print, usually an albumen print that is no more than 6inches, (unless it is an imperial cabinet card) that is mounted upon period cardboard. This was the most common way to display portraits in the 19th century.

Cancellation (COF) - A card that has been postmarked and cancelled on the front.

Carte-De-Visite (cdv) - An albumen print upon a cardboard mount with dimensions no more than 5inches mostly used as a visiting card.  read more »

Grading Postcards
When buying or selling postcards, everyone wants to know the condition of the postcard. This rating system is used for older or antique postcards.

M - Mint: A perfect card just as it comes from the printing press. No marks, bends, or creases. No writing or postmarks. A clean and fresh card. Seldom seen.

NM - Near Mint: Like Mint but very light aging or very slight discoloration from being in an album for many years. Not as sharp or crisp.

EX - Excellent: Like mint in appearance with no bends or creases, or rounded or blunt corners. May be postally used or unused and with writing and postmark only on the address side. A clean, fresh card on the picture side.

VG - Very Good: Corners may be a bit blunt or rounded. Almost undetectable crease or bend that does not detract from overall appearance of the picture side. May have writing or postally used on address side.

G - Good: Corners may be noticeably blunt or rounded with noticeably slight bends or creases. May be postally used or have writing on the address side.

FR - Fair: Card is intact. Excess soil, stains, creases, writing, or cancellation may affect picture. Could be a scarce card that is difficult to find in any condition.

Source: J. L. Mashburn and Postcard Collecting

Preservation of Postcards
Collecting vintage paper creates some special concerns regarding its preservation. If you like to keep antique photo or postcard albums complete as they were originally assembled, you will have even more problems. The real disadvantage is that most early albums were made of inferior green or black construction paper that leaves a residue on the postcard corners. If a top quality album was used, this slick paper didn't move or breathe leaving heavy indents on the postcards called album marks. Cards should be removed from these old albums.  read more »

Deltiology

Deltiology, the official name for postcard collecting, is thought to be one of the three largest collectable hobbies in the world along with coin and stamp collecting.  Postcards are popular because of the wide range of subjects, with just about every subject imaginable being at some time, portrayed on a postcard.  History itself can be tracked on postcards, from historical buildings, famous people, art, holidays and more.   read more »

"MY HEART IS A CHILD". These words were taken from a poem Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle once wrote to her mother. Ellen was born January 8, 1865 in South Columbia, New York, about 200 miles from New York City. She was shy and delicate and loved to draw and illustrate.  read more »

Raphael Tuck & Sons were publishers from the mid 1800's into the early 20th Century. Raphael Tuck & Sons were proudly known to be the Publishers to Her Majesties the King and Queen, with printing houses in London, Paris and New York.  read more »

The legend of Lady Godiva tells of a woman who rode nude through the streets of Conventry, all for the sake of lower taxes. The year was 1057. Lady Godiva was the wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia, one of the three great earls of 11th century England. Leofric was so exasperated by Lady Godiva's constant requests to reduce the taxes of Conventry that he declared he would lower the taxes only if Lady Godiva would ride through the town naked. She did so, covering herself with only her hair. The town rejoiced as taxes were lifted. Whether or not this account really happened, one will never know but the legend did spark enough interest to carry it through 930 years of story telling.

The coined phrase 'peeping tom' originated from this event as well. In seventeenth-century England, a later account of the story contended that Lord Godiva required all the townsmen to remain indoors while his wife took her famous ride. Peeping Tom was a citizen who grabbed a few glances out his window at the beautiful nude horseback rider. Of course, in this version of the legend, Peeping Tom was immediately struck dead.

Images of women and horses experienced great popularity at the turn of the century, bringing to life a fantasy that can be traced back to Lady Godiva. Around 1903, a photographer named Gerlach seized the Lady Godiva theme but with a much more romantic interpretation. While he did not photograph nudes, he did take the liberty of portraying women in risqué bodysuits, placing them in dark dramatic settings with the wind blowing gently through their hair.

The trend of portraying romantic women and their horses continued long after Gerlach's day had come and gone. Photographers and producers of fantasy images continued this popular theme through the end of the 1920's, using hand-applied color to enhance the effects of the image.

This information provided by Pam at Tallulahs.

1873: The first United States government postal cards are issued. There are regulations created that govern the size and postage cost for these new mailings. Only government issued post cards are allowed to be mailed; no “counterfeit” postcards can be used. One side of the card is for address and stamp; the other side is completely blank and used as a space for writing a personal message. No picture is featured on these plain cards.  read more »

The cakewalk dancers were a group of African-American slaves originating in the southern plantations of Florida about 1850. The idea came from the Seminole Indians. These dancers would walk a straight line and balance buckets of water on their heads. Over time, the dance evolved into an imitation of the mannerisms of the white, upper class ballroom figures such as dignified walking, waving canes, doffing hats, and kicking grand promenade.  read more »