Ask this question before you buy any postcard to resell on eBay!
How often could this view have been created since postcards first appeared about 1870 and up to 1939? (At the advent of the Second World War postcard collecting fell into decline and only in the past thirty years has it regained popularity). Most collectors consider 1939 the deadline between what should be called 'old' or 'vintage' and what is better called 'modern'. In time that 1939 deadline will shift, to the 1960s, or 1970s, but with a wealth of really fabulous postcards still existing from the late 1800s and early 1900s I recommend you stick to that 1939 deadline at least until pre-1939 cards run dry. If they ever run dry which is very unlikely!
Here's that question again:
How often could this view have been created since postcards first appeared about 1870 and up to 1939?
And here's the answer:
* If the view could be captured hundreds of times, even thousands, the postcard is not rare and could even be worthless. So churches, parks and beaches that look almost exactly as they did in the late 1800s will not fetch high prices unless some other profitable factor exists alongside.
It's an altogether different matter if the view could be captured just once, because this picture depicts the day the church caught fire, or it shows the Royal Family who visited there once, or it shows police arresting an infamous criminal or an eminent suffragette being released from prison. In reality a really rare view may have existed for minutes or seconds only and few artists and photographers were likely to be present to record the event. On occasion you'll find the card is very rare, even unique, as where something unusual and very unexpected happened which only photographers close to the scene may learn about and record the event. Good examples are railway accidents, colliery disasters, tram crashes.
Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and author of BANK BIG PROFITS SELLING VINTAGE TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW POSTCARDS ON EBAY which you can read about at: www.sellpostcardsonebay.com and MAKE MONEY TEARING UP OLD BOOKS AND MAGAZINES AND SELLING THEM ON EBAY which you can read about at: www.magstoriches.com. She has produced a free guide - 103 POWERSELLER TIPS - which you can download with other freely distributable reports and eBooks at www.avrilharper.com
