Archive for the ‘Collecting Vintage Postcards Photos Valentines And Vintage Cards’ Category

Oct

Vintage Greeting Cards Little Tidbits

Posted by: admin in Collecting Vintage Postcards Photos Valentines And Vintage Cards

Greeting cards can date back to ancient Chinese tradition of sending greeting cards to celebrate the new year and Egyptians sending greetings on papyrus scrolls.
By the 1940s European were exchanging hand made greeting cards.
The German woodcut greeting cards date back to the 1940s.

Though greeting cards can boast origins that go back at least two centuries, it wasn’t until 1840 when the first postage stamp was issued, that some clever and farseeing printers decided to hire artists and perfect printing methods to create and design greeting cards for the masses. The most prolific time for greeting cards was during the Victorian Age.

In the early part of the 1800s, greeting cards were a luxury only those with wealth and means could afford to send to family and friends. Before the debut of the postage stamp, greeting cards were hand delivered and they could be quite costly. Affordable cards became available to the general public by the 1850s like your holiday and New Years cards and thus a booming industry was born.

Oldest Known Card Was The Valentine Card
The oldest greeting card known was the Valentine card. Valentines were popular as long ago as the Middle Ages when young swains sang their hearts to their beloved. Valentines that were written didn’t appear until after the year 1400. In England, paper valentines that were handmade were all the rage. Valentines began to be commercially manufactured in the middle of the 19th century.The British Museum can boast a Valentine that was made during the 15th century. It is thought to be the oldest greeting card that can be located.

Christmas Greeting Card
The oldest known Christmas card dates back to 1843 in England. The first greeting card was said to be the Christmas card produced by John Calcott Horsley for Sir Henry Cole.Vintage Greeting Card For War Soldiers

First American Greeting Card
Louis Prang who was a German lithographer was known to be the first person to create the American greeting card in 1850. Mr. Prang was the first to make colored cards.

The Two Largest Greeting Card Companies in America
Hallmark Cards and American Greetings

Alana Morgaine
Our Greeting Cards
Alanas Books And Magazines

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Aug

Photo Postcards and Their History

Posted by: admin in Collecting Vintage Postcards Photos Valentines And Vintage Cards

Photo Postcards and Their History

Do you know how to tell the difference between a Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) and a printed one? Chances are you may not be certain. Real Photo Postcards have photos actually developed onto special photographic paper that is the same size and weight as a postcard. It also has a postcard back to it. Many postcards use various printing methods, just like newspapers and magazines do, to print a picture, but it is, in all actuality, not the “real” photograph.

The best way to tell the difference between the two types of postcards, and a way that you will know for certain which is which, is to utilize a magnifying glass. With the magnifying glass, look closely and carefully at the image on the postcard. If you can see dots, similar to pixels, lots and lots of little tiny dots, the image is printed and NOT a real photo. If you do not see dots but instead are viewing a solid image, it is a REAL Photo Postcard.

Another way to tell a Real Photo Postcard from a normal printed postcard is to look for marks on the paper itself from the paper manufacturer. If there is a “stamp box” on the back of the postcard, in the upper right hand corner, there could be words or a mark of some kind, indicating what type of photographic paper was used in the making of that postcard.

In 1903, the Kodak No. 3A Folding Pocket camera was introduced to the general public. This camera was specifically designed for film that was the exact same size as a standard postcard at that time, which was 3 ½ x 5 ½ inches. This was known as a postcard format camera. This camera enabled photographs to be printed on postcard backs. Kodak was not the only manufacturer of this trendy brand of camera. Ansco, another American camera manufacturer, made postcard format cameras, as well as a few other camera companies.

Taking photographs, making postcards from them, and mailing them was an extremely popular past-time in early 20th Century America. In 1900, the postal service eased their restrictions on the types of mailing articles that were acceptable and allowed these postcards to be sent through the U.S. mail system. Postage was only a penny in the early 1900s and that was a price most could afford then. Many wonderful photos were captured of those early days thanks to this technology and the popularity of its use.

In 1907, Real Photo Postcards, a service created by Kodak, allowed the general public to make a postcard from any photo they took. This method of offering a pre-printed postcard back and the ability to directly transfer a photo negative onto it created quite a bit of excitement in the early 1900s.

What this technology brought was not only entertainment and the ability to share special moments with family and friends, but it also allowed journalists to have the ability to travel across the country and document the scenes of America. Many treasured moments were captured thanks to the capabilities made possible through Real Photo Postcards.

Real Photo Postcards were also used to document historic occasions as well as tragic events. From celebrations and parades, to floods and fires, this medium helped transport happenings of the day across the country, around the world, and into the future.

Alana Morgaine
Alana’s Books And Magazines
Our Postcards

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