Postcard collecting is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. The Internet makes it easy to track down favorite artists, postcards from your childhood, or beautiful pictures of the world around you. Whether you're a serious collector or just some who likes the pictures, postcard collecting is an amazing and exciting hobby.
When I was a little kid, my Dad would travel a lot for his job. No matter where he was he would find me a postcard and send it. I held onto them for years. He traveled all over the United States and Europe. I got postcards from Georgia, California, Norway, and Turkey. I loved them because I loved my dad but they were all incredible looking too. I still have most of them and every once in awhile I take them out and reminisce.
Serious collectors may choose to limit their collections to cards to specific publishers and artists or by time and location or by type of postcard. Antique postcards date back to the first postcards printed during the civil war by J.P., Carlton. He transfered the copyright to H.L. Lipman and Lipman Postal Cards were sold until 1873 when the U.S. Government got into the business. Nine years later European countries were also producing postcards. Antique postcards have gained popularity in the past few years because many kinds of messages and layouts have almost disappeared. Most collectors see to it that they store and display their collection in the best possible way.
Historical societies are major collectors of Real Photo postcards because of their importance in research about how a city looked at a particular time or what people were doing. Real photo postcards show many slices of historical life such as town streets, families, and buildings that are no longer there. With a large enough collection you can get a very good sense of the development of a town or city. Postcards provide an incomparable glimpse into the society during the period they were used.
Worldwide, delitology is the third largest hobby. If you are starting a postcard collection, go after the ones that you have an interest in. Part of the joy of postcard collecting is knowing a single acquisition found in a unexpected place may begin a journey to unknown destinations.
Jay Corbin runs the Great Postcard Auctions website where you can find many Real Photo
Georgia postcards and other postcards for your collection.
