1914, unknown photographer © Science Museum Group collectionCrowded ship, 1924, unknown photographer © Science Museum Group collectionSo that wraps up the series. If you’re interested in finding out more about 19th century studio photographers and their work, the following reading list may be useful. In the final post in our series showing you how to dating your old family photographs using physical clues, Colin Harding offers some tips on how to identify postcards. Stamp boxes on printed or lithographed cards also offer dating clues.

This was originally interpreted as meaning that nothing could be written on the address side of a postcard. Frederick Hartmann was planning to market postcards and came up with the idea of the divided back. It seems likely that he sent some specimen cards to the Postmaster General to see if they would be approved. To save ink, US printers left a white border around the picture on the front of the postcard. The back of the card was divided more evenly, making the message area bigger.

So, this should be as early as you will find for United States postcards. The blank space on the left-hand side of the postcard is dedicated to the message you wish to send to the recipient. You may write about anything; your travel experience, learned lessons, quotes, https://mydatingadvisor.com/marriagemindedpeoplemeet-review/ or even a favorite memory. Make sure to summarize the message before writing to suffice the lines provided. Real Photo card publishers were not effected by the decline. New rotary drum printers let publishers print thousands of cards of one particular image.

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Devil’s Peak is part of the mountainous backdrop to Cape Town, South Africa. These people at Woodstock Cave are enjoying the view of the city. Published local topographical and ethnographical photocards. Not likely to be Friedrich Eyfried of Düsseldorf who used the same initials.

– Divided Back Post Cards

Although picture postcards first appeared in the 1890s, it wasn’t until very early in the 20th century that the format was used for commercial portraiture. Does the postcard back indicate that it was printed in Germany? The first commercial postcards produced in this country were sold at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago Illinois in 1893. These were the first privately printed souvenir postcards.

They may or may not have a white border, or a divided back, or other features of postcards, depending on the paper the photographer used. Many of the real photo postcards being done at the current time are reproductions of earlier historic photos. The easiest way to distinguish a real photo postcard is to look at it under a magnifying glass; it will show smooth transitions from one tone to another.Click here for links for dating real photos. Post cards that are actual photographic replications were first produced around 1900.

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Only the government was allowed to print the word “Postcard” on the back of postcards. Private printers used the terms, Souvenir Card, Correspondence Cards and Mail Cards. The government postal cards included a printed 1-cent stamp; the privately printed souvenir cards required a 2-cent adhesive postage stamp to be affixed.

Amateur photographers could buy sensitised cards on which to print their own postcards, and in 1903, Kodak introduced a popular folding camera designed to take postcard-sized prints. “Chrome” post cards began to dominate the scene soon after the Union Oil Company placed them in its western service stations in 1939. Mike Roberts pioneered his “WESCO” cards soon after World War II. Three-dimensional post cards also appeared in this era. By the 1960s, the standard size of cards had grown to 4 x 6 inches. As I looked for information that could help date the card, I found that much can be learned about the content of postcards from the history of their production. There are several distinct styles of postcards that can be categorized by era.

means of dating postcards

More description of the photograph was included on the postcard back. The UK adopted the internationally accepted standard postcard size of 4.75ins x 3.5 ins. The address and stamp were on one side, while the other side held an image and any written image. Because the image often occupied a good deal of the space, the message would be crammed in around the edges of the photograph side of the postcard. The sender wrote the address on one side of the card and a brief message on the other.

These cheaply produced cards allowed the use of gaudy dyes for coloring. The firm of Curt Teich flourished because of its line of linen postcards. Tichenor Brothers in Cambridge, Massachusetts also produced many cards in this era.

To find out more, pleaseemailus – we’ll be happy to offer any assistance you may need. When buying cards, be wary of descriptions which include terms such as ‘average’ or ‘good for its age’ because this usually indicates the card is in a ‘fair’ or worse condition. As you would expect, the condition of an old or antique postcard is an extremely important factor in relation to its worth – just as it is with old coins and stamps. Knowing this takes expert knowledge, which is why it is essential to have your postcards professionally assessed by a valuer who has a detailed understanding of both postcards and philately. Unless you have years of experience, the short answer is with difficulty. Even then, assessing the value of a postcard collection can be a timely process.