Old postcards

The collection and study of old postcards is the subject of a branch called deltiology. Today, classic postcards have almost completely been replaced by electronic communication, but in the past postcards were an important part of communication among people. Their form was not always the same. For example, it was not until the turn of the 19th century that only the address was on the reverse of the postcard, while the text was written on the obverse, only then did the format begin to be used with both the address and the text on the reverse. On older postcards we can even find postage stamps glued to the front of the postcard interfering with its motif.

Fig. 1: Italian postcard from period of World War I. The theme of warfare is very popular among postcard collectors.

The market price of old postcards varies very much. In addition to its current physical condition, the price of a postcard depends, of course, on the number of copies printed and the popularity of the theme or subject among collectors.

When collecting postcards, one should keep in mind the fact that if the postcard has passed through the post, it should also contain a postage stamp with a postmark. It is quite common to come across very interesting postage stamps on postcards which in their value can exceed the price of the postcard itself. However, the collection and study of postage stamps is the subject of another branch – philately.

Photograph used in this article – private collection of the author.