How To Protect Vintage Paper Collectibles

If you either own or have inherited old paper materials such as postcards, brochures, letters, greeting cards, tickets, pamphlets, trade cards, tobacco cards, calendars or other related items, it is important to care for them properly. Even newer paper collectibles, such as all the really cute drawings your children do in school, need to be protected if you hope to turn them into treasured momentos that you can cherish for years to come.

In the antiques business, these items are referred to as “ephemera.” Ephemera is written material that was only designed to be temporary. For example, once a greeting card, letter or a postcard was received and read, it was expected that it would be discarded. Even though it was suppose to be transitory, people began to save such items as souvenirs or remembrances for sentimental reasons.

When someone passed away, these old reminders of special occasions or special events were handed down to the next generation as part of that person’s estate. After the passage of so many years, much of the artwork and many of the graphics that appear on some of these materials are now considered valuable.

Collecting vintage ephemera is very popular today but a lot of it is quite fragile so caution needs to be taken when either handling it or storing it. With proper care, hopefully it will be around for generations to come. Only true experts in this field have the extensive knowledge needed to successfully stop the aging process or to restore these materials. The basic recommendations listed below are a beginning and will go along way toward maintaining the present condition of any ephemera pieces you may have.

1. If you have postcards in albums, they should be removed. Cards should be separated with pieces of acid-free paper and they should be stored upright on their edges. Stacking them on top of each other could cause damage to cards that are embossed.

2. When postcards or other paper materials are stacked on their edges within a space, and they do not completely fill that space, be sure to use some sort of stabilizers or separators to keep the postcards and other paper materials in a straight up and down position. You do not want the materials to “slump” which can cause curling or bending.

3. Paper materials should be stored in a temperature of 75 degrees or less. Also, too much or too little humidity is not good.

4. Next to fire, sunlight is the biggest enemy of paper materials. It is best to keep your materials in a dark, dry and cool place such as a fireproof cabinet.

5. Do not eat or drink anywhere near your collection. Spillage of any kind could be devastating.

6. Dirt and dust can cause discoloration and even scratches so use a soft brush to dust materials.

7. Rodents and insects are attracted to some of the ingredients in paper. Even if they don’t eat away at the paper, although they probably will, droppings will leave permanent stains.

8. Try to handle your materials by holding the edges unless you wear gloves. If you handle the paper too much, the oils in your skin will slowly cause erosion.

9. If you must attach a piece of ephemera to something else only use linen or paper tape and never put the tape on the front.

If you are a dealer and are selling ephemera, you probably do not have any pieces in your possession long enough to warrant taking these steps but if you have your own personal collection, it could be worth your while.

Some of these suggestions may not sound all that important but following them over the course of 10, 20 or 30 years can have a dramatic effect on the longevity of these heirlooms. Remember you can never replace theses wonderful old collectibles – time is their enemy. Do what is necessary to protect them.

Anne Benedetto is a former auction house owner and former dealer in the antiques and collectibles business. She presently provides people with important details, behind the scenes information, helpful tips and first hand knowledge of the brick and mortar auction business. Visit Anne at http://AuctionHouseTalk.com which is an interactive site where interested people can talk about the ins and outs of auctions, antiques and collectibles.

What Are Postcards Worth ?

Top-of-the-range types include Art Nouveau, cards featuring the Titanic and the best examples of photographic social history. Transport is a popular theme - Railways, Shipping, Trams, Motoring and Motor Racing - and prices here can range from a few pounds to fifty or sixty.

Experience and the use of a good catalogue helps collectors sort out the most desirable items.

Examples of subjects you might come across on cards,
with likely prices you would expect to pay (in pounds sterling), include:

Edwardian actresses.......£1.00
Royalty.......£2.00
Ships.......£3.50
Photographic Dogs and Cats.......£1.50
Churches.......£2.50
Local Railway Stations (pre 1950).......£35.00
Embroidered Silks (WW1).......£4.00

A large number of enthusiasts look for 'Topo', postcards showing street scenes and social life in bygone days. Usually of their own locallity or perhaps places they have lived. Many people will collect any scenes which evoke fond memories of visits to that location. 

Here the value of a card is in direct proportion to its scarcity: city centre scenes can be worth pence, while village views, of which only a few copies were orignally published by a local photographer, rate much more highly.
Anything from 10 or 20p for common (usually printed views) of well visited locations ie cathedrals, holiday resorts, to several pounds for village and town street scenes. Particularly well animated 'real photographic' views which may fetch £20.00 upwards.

In fact, 90% of postcards, no matter how old, fall into a price bracket ranging from pence to five pounds.Cards that sell cheaply include the categories of relatively modern issues, art reproductions, deckle-edged greeetings cards, scenic views that have changed little and poorly printed comics.
Most collectors are searching for more interesting village, town or city scenes, or themes represented on cards. The excitement for them is in finding elusive cards that add to their collections.

Whether or not the card has passed through the post does not normally have any bearing on its value, but stamps and postmarks can add interest to a card. Good condition is a must however - creases and bent corners etc. render many cards worthless.

The bulk of surviving old postcards are from the 'Golden Age' period (1902-18) and may only be worth a few pence. Cards from pre 1902, often distinguishable by the lack of a 'divided back', are certainly rarer and are worth from a few pounds upwards but are not eagerly sought after by todays collectors, who in general are more interested in the picture content. Postally used cards from the early postcard years (1894 onwards) are quite collectable however.

One of the main attractions of the Postcard Collecting hobby is that the subject is so vast that you can gain expertise in your favourite category in a short space of time. Even relative beginners are capable of discovering extremely rare cards in their own chosen specialised field. The variety of subjects to collect is so immense that nobody could possibly become familiar with all of them, therefore it is fairly easy to become an expert in your own chosen speciality with a modest investment of time in research

Postcard Magic

No hobby quite compares with collecting postcards in the way it caters for all interests. Whether you're a football fan, mad about the royal family, keen on local history, a railway buff or a student of ornithology, picture postcards offer you a marvellous stimulus for your hobby. And for those merely nostalgic and interested in the events and fashions of the past century, the postcard encapsulates it all.

Postcards are fascinating and collectable in lots of different ways. Each example is a snapshot of the past: a moment, a slice of social history, frozen in time. Every postcard that has gone through the post tells you a little bit about its place in the bygone world. The picture, stamp, postmark, message and address are part of the life of two people - the sender and the recipient - in the past. Few collectors are lucky enough to find a postcard written by a famous person, but many writers referred to current events in their messages.

Postcards provide a panorama of the events of the twentieth century: coronations, sporting confrontations, horrific accidents, local fetes, great exhibitions, world wars. They show the development of rail, road, sea and air transport. They feature actresses, bishops, politicians, cricketers and pier divers - anyone who might be newsworthy and heroic. National firms like Raphael Tuck of London and Valentine of Dundee published cards of countrywide interest, while in every town and city were local photographers who recorded all the interesting events of the day and published them as picture postcards. So a photograph of the annual sports in a village could be mailed anywhere in Britain - or, indeed, the world - to friends and relatives. The local railway station, cinema, colliery, church or school, and every street in the place, would appear on a card - anything that was part of a community was a likely subject for publishers to use.

Some of the world's best-known serious and comic artists of the early 20th century had their work featured on postcards, including art nouveau exponents Alphonse Mucha and Raphael Kirchner. In Britain, Mabel Lucie Attwell's children, Alfred Quinton's landscapes, Louis Wain's cats, Tom Browne's ordinary people, and Donald McGill's henpecked husbands can all be found on cards.

With such a wide choice of subjects to collect, there really is plenty to suit anyone's pocket. Even some cards a century old can cost just pence, though the best street scenes attract prices in excess of £20. Special subject cards - Titanics, suffragettes and football teams - can rate over £100, while more mundane themes - flowers, churches and country views - can be bought cheaply. Age doesn't always provide an indication of expense, either, for a card from the 1970's may sell for more than one from the Edwardian era. Whatever their subject or price, however, postcards can be fascinating, stimulating, and educational - but they never fail to interest.