Is It Best to Show Both Sides When Selling Postcards on eBay?

All view postcards, not just vintage collectable postcards, have two sides, one being the picture side and the other for the message and recipient's address. But just because there are two sides to every collectable postcard that doesn't mean collectors want to see both sides, except in the following main cases where showing both sides of your vintage postcard can significantly add to its selling price on eBay.

* The most common reaction is to show the image side of a vintage or more recent postcard, but in fact the image side may not be its main selling point. In reality the 'other' side might be much more interesting to collectors and help your card fetch ten times more money that the image side only. You'll sometimes hear the non-view side of a postcard called 'other' because many people - wrongly - assume the address side is less important than the picture side. However, very often the view side is plain and boring and lacks all interest to collectors and showing that side only in your eBay listing might mean your postcard goes unsold. The 'other' side though, well that may feature a rare stamp or an unusual postmark, or maybe it has a famous celebrity signature, all of which can turn an otherwise worthless picture side into a hot seller on eBay.

* If the image side of your postcard is in good condition and the back is stained, because the ink got smudged in the rain when it was delivered for instance, then your buyer will be very disappointed and could leave negative feedback on eBay if you didn't mention the stains on the back of the card or, better still, you uploaded an image showing those stains.

Those are just two instances when it's wise to show both sides of a postcard when selling it on eBay, there are many more, but none of those reasons involves adding to your eBay listing fees. That's because the best way to display postcards you are selling on eBay is to scan both sides then add the separate scans to one image so image and address sides show together in your eBay listing. That means you pay for one image to be uploaded but you actually show two. It's very easy and takes a few minutes longer to list your postcards but showing both sides can add significantly to your final selling prices on eBay.

Learn more about making big profits selling vintage TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW POSTCARDS on eBay at http://www.sellpostcardsonebay.com

Old Postcards and Why You Can Buy Them Cheap and Sell Them for Triple Figure Prices on eBay

For more than forty years I've made the main part of my living selling vintage postcards, first at flea markets and collector's fairs, and latterly on eBay. They're just bits of paper, sometimes very attractive, sometimes not, but either way they can generate fabulous profits, even for items that cost you next to nothing at flea markets and boots sales, even on eBay. And you'll be quick to give this easy business a go once you know how items that cost you little or nothing can fetch triple figure sums on eBay.

It's a business that just gets better with time and this is why:

- People are always interested in the history of where they were born, or where they live, where they went to school, and that's why we're seeing a massive growth in sites where members can trace their family history over several centuries and other sites giving historical information about specific people and places.

- The best old postcards, usually real photographic, are rare and can attract good profits on eBay. That's because in the early 1900s skilled photographers were few and far between and most worked just a short distance from base and would spend more time developing photographs than actually leaving their darkroom to add more photographs to their stock. Additionally, most photographers specialised in family and personal portraits, usually taken in their own studios, and they rarely took to the streets to record topographical views. Moreover, because they're made from flimsy materials, most postcards from Victorian times were lost or damaged over the years and very few well preserved photographic photographs remain today. But there are still many thousands of postcards to pick up at boot sales and flea markets, just not many of each individual view. And it's the rarity in views themselves that make some postcards worth hundreds of thousands of pounds or dollars - or other country currency - each.

- Postcards are one of the most collectible subjects worldwide and represent a business anyone can start and make money from right away.

Learn more about making big profits selling vintage TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW POSTCARDS on eBay at http://www.sellpostcardsonebay.com

Postcards - A Brief History Part I

Postcards. If you're old you probably remember being able to go to the post office and get one for about 3 cents. They weren't much to look at but they were a quick and easy way to drop off a message to someone without having to stuff a letter in an envelope.

Well, believe it or not, postcards have a fairly long history in the United States. Oh, and just for the record, the official name for postcard collecting is Deltiology. And currently postcard collecting is the third largest collectable hobby in the world. The only thing that tops it is stamps and coins. In the US it is also topped by baseball cards but that is purely a national thing. Postcards are popular because they have a very broad appeal. You can get a postcard with a photo of just about anything on it, with world landmarks such as buildings and bridges being the most popular things that you'll find. Today, travelers from all over the world collect postcards as reminders of where they have been and the landmarks they've visited.

For example, if a person was visiting New York City and went to the Empire State Building they could, upon leaving, pick up a postcard of the building itself right there. No need to search one out. They are as easy to find as ants at a picnic.

The first postcard was printed in 1861 during the Civil War. It was printed by J.P. Carlton. Eventually his copyright was transferred to H.L. Lipman. These are now known as Lipman Postal Cards. They continued to sell until 1873 when they were replaced by the U.S. Government postcards.

Between 1870 and 1898 was what was known as the pioneer era of postcards. This is when postcards started turning up in countries like Hungary, Great Britain, France and Germany. The first card showing a photo of the Eiffel Tower was printed in 1889.

The first of what was known as "exposition" cards was printed in the United States in 1873. It was a photo of the main building of Inter-State Industrial Exposition in Chicago. This card was not originally intended as a souvenir card but soon became a very sought after collectable and today is worth a lot of money. It should be noted that during this period all privately printed cards were required to have two cent postage while the government cards only required one cent postage.

It wasn't until 1898 that American publishers were allowed to print what were called Private Mailing Cards. These cards were printed with one cent stamps, the same as the United States Government issues. This was authorized by an act of congress on May 19, 1898. This was the most significant event to explode the use of private postal cards. Just like with the Government cards and the pioneer cards before them, writing on these cards was reserved for the front side only.

In our next article in this series we'll continue with the Undivided Back Era of postcards.

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Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Postcards [http://postcard.for-free-and-fun.com/]

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Postcards - A Variety Of Types

In this article we're going to discuss the various types of postcards that are available to the collector and even the casual "sender."

The general consensus is that a postcard is a postcard. Actually, that couldn't be farther from the truth. There are a variety of postcard styles, each with its own characteristics. We'll go over the most popular ones for the purpose of this article.

First we have what are called "view cards." Since the very early days of postcards, view cards have been the hottest item among the collectors. People have been trading cards showing photos of their home towns and places they've visited since the beginning of postcard time. View cards are known for showing historic references to buildings, streets and even towns that are no longer in existence or have changed greatly over the years. Even views of these towns that were produced in the photochrome era no longer look the same. The early cards offer so much to us in the form of history with depictions of early telegraph, telephone and power lines. Even the messages written on the cards by the people sending them give us an insight into the sentiment of the times. It is almost like having a first hand account of what it was like to live back then. Certainly it is like holding a piece of history in your hands.

The next type of postcard is what is known as the "greeting card." The greeting card is pretty much as basic as the view card was in the early days. However, the popularity of the greeting card has declined over the years. The most common greeting cards were Christmas, Easter and birthdays. Cards, such as Labor Day cards, which at one time were very popular and common are quite scarce today. Today most collectors specialize in maybe one or two topics of cards to collect. For example, some people will only collect Christmas cards showing photos of Santa if, and only if, he is wearing a green robe. In any case the early greeting cards were some of the most beautiful cards ever printed. Publishers would compete fiercely for sales and use the finest techniques available to print their cards.

The next type of cards are what are known as "historical cards." These cards were printed to celebrate some historical event such as a battle of a war, a parade, or some political event. These cards today are very rare and bring a good amount of money to the serious collector. With so much history to choose from and so many historical cards printed, there is a wide open field and much to offer for anyone who happens to be interested in twentieth century history. Often the cards were printed with real photographs with very few printed, which made them very rare and a true collectors item. One of the most famous cards was one with a photo of the raising of the American flag on Iwa Jima during World War II.

Next, we have what are called "art cards." Art cards are probably the most important in the antique category. These are cards that were made with actual paintings of famous artists. The skill of the artist of the period along with the rarity of these cards make them very popular among collectors today.

Finally, we have what are called "photographic art cards." These are cards that feature real photographs of very beautiful women. These cards are usually hand tinted in fine detail and in the most beautiful colors you can imagine. The photomatage techniques available made it so that these cards could be converted into original art creations, making them truly unique.

See, a postcard isn't just a postcard.

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Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Postcards [http://postcard.for-free-and-fun.com/]

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Vintage Illustrations on Postcards - The Old Still Appeal To The New

Vintage postcards are the thing nowadays. Illustrations that are vintage have been the most popular pictures and images used in many postcard printing projects. In fact, many have even made a collection of vintage postcards as a hobby.

One major factor of these vintage postcards being popular is that the vintage illustrations have helped the postcards to stimulate curiosity and interest of those who are not familiar with a certain era. Attraction have been generated for most people that made it easy for most vintage postcard printing design to catch the eyes of their target readers.

It's a proven fact though that people are most certainly attracted to things that are unfamiliar to them. Likewise, anything that speaks of, or illustrates an era gone by piques almost anyone's curiosity. What do people of a certain time have in fashion? Or what is the lifestyle during a particular time?

It seems that the less modern graphics are used, the more attention your project can get from your target readers.

But do you know how these vintage postcards came to be? When did they start becoming popular?

From 1939 to the present times, vintage postcard printing first came to being during the photochrome era. This is during the late 1930s. Also known as the Modern Chromes, the postcard printing pieces of that age were catching the eyes of many collectors mostly because of the colors applied. The colors appealed to a population that has embraced color images not only in their postcards, but most importantly in their movie industry. Hence, the popularity of The Wizard of Oz film.

The very first "Chrome" postcards were launched by the Union Oil Company in their service stations in the western part of the US. In 1939, they were the most widespread print material in the marketing industry. They were quickly reproduced, with high quality results, and most significantly, they were printed in color.

The spread of these vintage postcard printing pieces were momentarily subdued during WWII because of shortage in supply. But they were later revived and eventually replaced both linen and black-and-white postcards in 1945.

From 1900 to the present, there was also the vintage Real Photo Postcards that were produced from photos and developed onto photographic paper. It is very difficult to know their exact dates because most have lost their postmark or the photographer have not been able to indicate it in their postcards. Hence, there is much confusion in identifying them in the present time as there is nothing to indicate if they are reproductions or not.

Collectors of vintage postcards tell the real from the reel by looking at these postcard printing pieces with a magnifying glass. A real "Real Photo Postcard" has solid picture, while a reprinted one is made up of a lot of little dots.

Then there's the Art Deco Era (1910 to 1930s) that made popular the vintage postcards that have vibrant colors as their design. Art Deco subjects are usually of the past such as the ancient Greeks, Middle Eastern themes, and Egyptian artifacts, among others. The most common illustrations on Art Deco vintage postcards were ladies in fancy vogue style clothing; as well as the presence of sharp angles and straight lines.

Although vintage postcard printing has supposedly ended around the 1930s, it was during this era that the greatest volume of postcard printing pieces have been produced.

Lynne Saarte is a writer that hails from Texas. She has been in the Internet business for some years now, specializing in Internet marketing and other online business strategies.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit: Postcard Printing Company

A Few Fun Facts About Postcards and How Can They Be Useful to Your Business

Postcard sending may be one of the best ways to spend your spare change or to build up a hobby.
Although most of the postcards we get today are related to business or are commercial in nature, it's still nice to have postcards sent to you from all over the world. Postcards also serve as time monuments and postcards can really serve as 'time tellers', especially if you find some rare ones out there.
Postcards are around for almost a century and a half - the postcard was patented in 1861 by John P.
Since then the sending of postcards quickly rose to popularity and there were sent more and more of them each year. There were 677,777,798 American postcards sent in 1908, which means that every American sent roughly 7.64 postcards a year. Did you know that there is a science dedicated to collecting postcards? You do now. The study of postcards is called deltiology.
There are some postcards that are considered special, funny or even naughty in various ways. For example, Soviet-style old postcards are one of the most ironic ones. Their style is remarkably great, while their quality was one of the best in the world. Soviet postcards aren't too hard to acquire, though are considered to be rare by some deltiologists. Also, there have been rumors that the famous lolcats were invented by postcard senders. Now that's a cute postcard.
Postcards have had a great effect on the community, and it is common that most of the postcards you receive, are of commercial nature.
Postcard potential in advertising is really valuable, especially if you take your time to make an appealing one.
The devastating success of postcards has influenced and inspired a lot of new advertising types. One of the most successful followers of postcards which witness a tremendous amount of success, are flyers.







We are offering great flyer printing, and there are also a lot of different options if you want to print flyers for your business, parties and conventions.

Vintage Postcards - Basic Information For the New Collector Or Dealer

Anyone looking for a hobby or a way to supplement their income should consider vintage postcards as their product of choice. Why postcards, you ask? There is a huge supply of postcards available in the secondary marketplace and, if you are going to be a collector, they do not take up much room so they are easy to store and, if you are going to be a dealer, they are easy to ship.
The majority of vintage postcards have a low to mid-range value. If you can buy large lots of them at reasonable prices, you should be able to make some decent profit based on the volume. Unless each lot has been gone through by professional postcard dealers, you may come across one or two that are worth some pretty good money - possibly enough to pay for the entire lot.
Postcards are similar to stamps and coins - they are graded as to condition. The various grades are M for mint, NM for near mint, EX for excellent, VG for very good, G for good and FR for fair. The grades of mint and near mint can really be subjective. The definition of each of these two grades can be very hard to live up to in reality. Finding vintage postcards in close to perfect condition is very difficult.
When it comes to determining age, all vintage postcards fall into what are called eras. There are seven of them in all. The very first is referred to as the pioneer era and covers postcards produced between 1870 and 1898. The second only covers a four-year period, 1898 to 1901, and is called the private mailing card era.
The others are the undivided back era (1901-1907), divided back era (1907-1915), the white border era (1915-1930), the linen era (1930-1945) and the photochrome era (1939 - today).
Not technically considered an era, because they were produced almost from the very beginning, are the highly popular and collectible real photo postcards. Today they are referred to as RPPCs and many of them, depending on the scenes depicted, bring hundreds of dollars.
The well-known "golden age" of postcards ended around 1915. Prior to this time, most postcards were produced in Germany. With the start of World War I, production shifted to the United States. Not only was the quality of these new cards not as good as those produced by Germany, many of them were just reprints of previously issued postcards.
The value of postcards is not just determined by condition and age but also by subject matter. Some topics are not very collectible at all but some are so highly desirable that people will pay outrageous sums of money for them. Subject matter and themes can be complicated when determining value so it is recommended that anyone interested in either collecting or selling postcards invest in a good reference book about them, one that includes a price guide.
The list of different subject matters and themes are quite extensive. Holiday themes are hugely popular, especially postcards that depict scenes of Halloween or Santa Claus. Within each theme or subject matter, any card that is artist signed is automatically worth more than those that are unsigned. There were a number of very talented artists that created postcards back then and today their work is in much demand by serious collectors.
In the early days of postcard production, sets of postcards and postcard series were very popular. This was actually a very successful marketing tool that was used by several of the postcard manufacturers. Once someone had a postcard that was actually part of a set or a series, they most naturally wanted the other installments. Today, collectors will pay a substantial premium to secure the one card they might need to complete a set or series.
There are several other unique types of postcards that were quite popular back then that have added value today. The first is called a hold to light postcard. These cards have cutouts in the top layer with colored paper placed below. An example would be bright yellow paper showing through cutouts shaped like candle flames. Upon holding the postcard up to the light, the candles appear to be lit.
The other type is what is called a mechanical postcard. In this case, a card will have at least one moving part such as a wheel that is hidden beneath the top layer of the card. The wheel might contain the 12 months of the year allowing for a particular month to show through a small window. Mechanical postcards like this provided the opportunity for someone to actually personalize a postcard to celebrate a special occasion such as a birthday or an anniversary.
When dealing with vintage postcards, there is one more important thing to remember. Many earlier postcards were filled out and mailed. Used versus never used does have an effect on value but when it comes to a used card, the value may not lie with the actual postcard, but with the postage stamp affixed to it. Many old postage stamps are quite valuable. No one should get rid of what appears to be a worthless postcard without checking the stamp first.







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.

Collecting Antique Postcards

Antique postcards are a wonderful way to learn about the past. Often the only way to see pictures of old buildings, street cars, expositions, or sports and other pastimes, is on a postcard. A collector of postcards usually specializes in a theme: perhaps a particular location or mode of transportation, or a sport or pastime, or in advertising cards. Trains and old sports stadiums are very popular, and fetch high prices. Postcard collectors are often referred to as deltiologists (from the Greek meaning a collector of small pictures or writings).
At the turn of the 20th century, postcards were extremely popular. It is said that visitors to New York's Coney Island mailed 200,000 postcards in a single day in 1906. At the height of their popularity, over a billion cards were sold every year.
Vintage postcards can be found in several places. Flea markets, antique shows, or ephemera (paper) shows often have tables. Auctions are a good place to look for postcards. In the United States there are many postcard clubs which often have public shows
The same dealers often move from show to show. Some dealers will bargain with you, and others won't. Most dealers give a discount for large purchases. You might want to shop around when you are at a show, because prices of the same postcard might vary with different dealers. There is a wide range of prices of postcards, from as low as a few dollars to more than 50 dollars; the price of the postcard depends on the subject, condition, and scarcity of the postcard.
You may choose to overlook the condition of a card if it is scarce or you need it to add to a collection. You may or may not be interested in the stamp on the postcard. Most postcards are printed on cardboard, but materials such as leather, wood, and even metal have also been used. There is a incredible variety of topics depicted on postcards. There is everything from disasters to greetings (not just holiday greetings but also greetings from a particular place). German "Gruss Aus" cards are very popular.
There have been several artists that have made their living creating pictures specifically produced for postcards. Popular "signed" artists include Ellen Clapsaddle (1865-1934) whose cards show delightful children, and Frances Brundage (1854-1937) among others.
The idea of sending postcards became popular in 1861 when H.L. Lipman from Philadelphia began to privately print cards with the front left blank for a message, and the back left for the address. These cards could be mailed once they had a stamp. Companies quickly realized that printing messages or pictures on the backs of "advertising cards" was an inexpensive way to advertise their products. The US government issued its first postal card in 1873. These were mostly used for advertising.

It was the Chicago World's Fair that started a frenzy of sending picture postcards.
The pioneer era of picture postcards was from the 1893 Columbian Exposition to 1898. At that time US Post Office cards could be mailed for one cent, but privately printed cards cost 2 cents to mail. Postal cards were government issued and had pre-printed postage, but postcards were privately printed and required stamps. The backs of cards were "undivided backs" and intended only for writing the name and address. Many of these cards have writing on the front below or along with the picture. These cards are often called souvenir cards or mail cards. Charles Goldsmith, using government postal stock printed several sets of official souvenir postcards for the Columbian Expositions and these were extremely popular. Pre-1900 postcards are rare though.
The Golden Age of Postcards was from 1898-1915. The printing and coloring on these cards were high quality. The passage of the Private Mailing Card Act of 1989 allowed private postcards to be mailed for one cent. The back was still undivided, until 1907 when the requirement for undivided backs was dropped, and the left side could be used for a message. In 1915 World War 1 brought an end to the golden age of postcards.
Many postcards from this era were printed in Europe, especially Germany, which allowed good printing quality. The cards were hand colored, and sometimes the colorer used his imagination. Sometimes a printer would add or subtract an object to make the picture look better. It is not uncommon to find two cards with the same scene except for some object is missing in one of them. For this reason collectors must not assume that old postcards show historically correct images.
Antique postcards are a wonderful peek into the past. Although images are often not historically correct, they give us a picture of what has been (of what people wore, and what they did, and where they did it, and what was important to them) that we often can't get anywhere else.







Tracy Crowe loves looking at old postcards
For information about antique collectables, visit [http://antiquecollectablesinfo.com]

Scams to Avoid When Buying Vintage Postcards at Offline Auction

Most local auction rooms sell collectors' and dealers' postcard cast-offs, as well as bulk lots of liquidated property, business clearances, collections from people who have died or given up collecting.
The good news is specialist postcard dealers rarely get to know about these sales so there's always a good chance you'll find plentiful lots worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars selling for just a few dollars.
TIPS
* You'll find some auction houses selling complete rubbish stock in bundles which no one can resell; others promote rubbish lots mixed with one or two quality items, usually to confuse bidders and create a bidding frenzy. Yet others sell quality items only, usually complete collections or entire business stock from people who have given up collecting or selling or they've died or gone out of business.
* Know how unscrupulous dealers operate. Most dealers know what they are doing and the dishonest few will remove quality items, the process is called 'picking', from anything they buy, and bundle the rest back into auction. The best they sell themselves, often on eBay.
* Visit as many auctions as possible that deal regularly in big bundle items. Many auction houses have special collectibles sales every few months and can be a wonderful source of low cost, high profit goods. Try to get some back catalogues and look for realisations of prices fetched at previous auctions. You could, for example, obtain a past year's Spring and Summer Postcard Sale catalogue and a subsequent list of realisations, namely prices achieved. You can sometimes get these catalogues from auction staff, some may still be available to print from the auction company's Internet site. Compare lot numbers from the earlier catalogue with actual finishing prices listed in the later catalogue. You'll get a good idea of how close the auction company's estimates were compared to finishing prices. Being able to confidently predict finishing prices means you can budget on the day and in emergency you might even consider placing commission bids without having to visit in person.
* Try always to turn up on the day, not only to view but also to bid. Opinions vary and it's not unusual for an auctioneer to describe something as 'old' which in collecting terms is better called 'modern'. You can't afford to bid on items you haven't viewed, you must not trust another person's opinion, irrespective of their standing in the postcard world.
* At offline auction try to check lots immediately before bidding starts. This is because lots are sometimes tampered with, often mistakenly, usually deliberately, and what you viewed yesterday may be totally unlike the lots you'll buy today.
Check for:
- items since stolen or damaged.
- items moved between lots so a lot that contained rubbish yesterday is packed with high value collectibles today, and all the postcards you wanted are no longer part of the lot you're bidding on.
- higher priced items are often concealed behind less valuable items so all most people see is rubbish and low value pieces and they probably won't bid.







Avril Harper is an 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

Collecting Postcards Divided Back - Post Cards

Early postal regulations permitted only the name and address of the recipient on backs of postcards. Messages on the front often defaced the image. By 1907 the United States Postal Service began to permit the use of what is now called a divided back Post Card. The back of the postcard had a line down the middle to provide space for both the address and a message.
This new regulation and others in the early 1900s started a national obsession in this country that lasted for almost two decades. American's were buying postcards at the rate of more than 700 million a year and it seems that they were saving most of them. Often putting them in albums and scrapbooks. Most homes in the United States had a special place for postcards, usually the parlor.
A number of beautiful and pleasing postcards were made in Germany and Austria, where fine color reproduction was less expensive than elsewhere. Many postcards bearing the names of American publishers were printed abroad. Wherever their postcards were printed, American publishers continued to strive for unique topics such as town views and birthday greeting postcards. Now picture postcards were more than just a means of communication. They provided a portrait of life in America during the first two decades of the twentieth century.
In 1913, American's bought over 900 million postcards. However, by 1914 postcard usage suddenly came to a halt due in part to four reasons. (1) German printers dominated the postcard manufacturing business until the enactment of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff which in effect cut off low cost imported postcards, along with many other goods. (2) American printers did not have the same printing technology that the German's possessed. (3) The arrival and introduction of low cost folded greeting cards with envelopes. and (4) World War 1.
The end of the "Golden Age" of postcards (1901-1915) ushered in the American "White Border Era".







Glyn Farber has published a catalog of all known Hickey Brother Cigar Store Tokens and co-authored a book about Louisiana Trade Tokens. In addition he wrote several articles for The Token and Medal Society (TAMS) and The National Token Collectors Association (NTCA). Glyn has been a devoted collector of Louisiana Trade Tokens, Louisiana collectibles and Lake Charles, LA postcards for almost 40 years.
Find out more information about divided back postcards, Collectibles and Trade Tokens at his web sites http://www.most-popular-collectibles-at-auction.com and http://www.louisiana-trade-tokens.com

Collecting Postcards Post Card Era

On December 24, 1901 the United States Postal Service approved the use of the words Post Card to be printed on the backs of privately printed postcards. This USPS change of 1901 allowed postcard publishers and printers to drop the message "Private Mailing Cards, Authorized by Act of Congress on May 19, 1898". Writing was still not permitted on the back and a 1 cent stamp was still required to mail a Post Card. By 1902, the postcard industry was off and running, and so was the hobby of collecting postcards.
One popular publisher in the early 1900s was The Albertype Company of Brooklyn, NY. The company was owned by Herman L. Wittemann and he published postcards from 1890 to 1952. Wittemann used a photo process invented by Austrian photographer Joseph Albert (1825-1886). His postcards used a special process. Photographs would be taken by Wittemann's representatives and he would arrange to use photographs taken by others.
Another popular publisher was The Rotograph Postcard Company located in New York City and Chicago. This company published as many as 60,000 postcards dealing with a variety of subjects ranging from scenic views of towns and cities to real photo's.
Both The Rotograph Postcard Company and The Albertype Company made postcards during the early "Post Card" period. As mentioned above writing was not permitted on the backs. To make their postcards attractive and appealing photographs of towns views were on the front. A small space usually at the bottom of the photograph was available for a short message. If you wanted to write a longer message a USPS Postal Card was used.
Post Card users loved to send home postcards from far away places they visited or exchange postcards with friends and family. By 1907 the United States Postal Service began to permit the use of what is now called a "divided back".







Glyn Farber has published a catalog of all known Hickey Brother Cigar Store Tokens and co-authored a book about Louisiana Trade Tokens. In addition he wrote several articles for The Token and Medal Society (TAMS) and The National Token Collectors Association (NTCA). Glyn has been a devoted collector of Louisiana Trade Tokens, Louisiana collectibles and Lake Charles, LA postcards for almost 40 years.
Find out more information about the Post Cards Era, Collectibles and Trade Tokens at his web sites http://www.most-popular-collectibles-at-auction.com and http://www.louisiana-trade-tokens.com

Collecting Postcards - Private Mailing Cards

The inventor of the first private postcard in the United States was J. P. Carlton of Philadelphia, who applied for a patent on Dec. 17, 1861. He then sold his patent to H. L. Lipman, who printed postcards with a decorated border and marked "Lipman's Postal Cards".
In America the United States Postal Service published and printed its first postal cards in 1873. They were sold for 1 cent, while privately produced cards needed a two cent stamp, the same as a letter. For that reason, few postcards were produced privately because the privately printed postcards cost more to mail.
However, on May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which allowed private printers and publishers to produce postcards. The Act required that private publishers print the message Private Mailing Cards, Authorized by Act of Congress on May 19, 1898 on the backs of their cards. Postage required was now a 1 cent stamp.
Like Postal Cards, the Private Mailing Cards allowed only address information on the backs of the card. Many pictorial private mailing cards compensated by leaving a small blank area along an edge for the sender to write a few words to the recipient. Pictorial "Private Mailing Cards" are very rare today.
Postal Card quickly became a term reserved to cards printed by the Post Office. Privately printed cards which required stamps for posting were called "Private Mailing Cards" and later called a "Post Card". Postal Card or Postal is still a term most appropriately applied to official United States postal stationery.
In 1901 the practice of "Private Mailing Cards" was rescinded and all privately produced cards were printed using the words "Post Card" printed on the undivided backs.







Glyn Farber has published a catalog of all known Hickey Brother Cigar Store Tokens and co-authored a book about Louisiana Trade Tokens. In addition he wrote several articles for The Token and Medal Society (TAMS) and The National Token Collectors Association (NTCA). Glyn has been a devoted collector of Louisiana Trade Tokens, Louisiana collectibles and Lake Charles, LA postcards for almost 40 years.
Find out more information about Private Mailing Cards, Collectibles and Trade Tokens at his web sites http://www.most-popular-collectibles-at-auction.com and http://www.louisiana-trade-tokens.com

Collecting Postcards - Postal Cards

A Postal Card is a type of postcard that was first released by the United States Postal Service in 1873. The destination address, return address and the preprinted postage was on the back side of Postal Cards. The entire front side of Postal Cards could be used to write a message. The very first Postal Cards issued were 5 ½ inches by 3 ½ inches, which is the same size used today. In 1873 a Postal Card could be purchased for one cent. By 1879 the cost increased to two cents and then back to one cent in 1885. Up until 1956 the cost of Postal Cards varied from one cent to two cents and at times three cents. In 1956 the postage increased to 4 cents and has risen gradually ever since.
The 1873 Postal Card had a preprinted image of Miss Liberty similar to the capped bust liberty used on coins of the early 1800s. The image also indicated the postal rate of one cent. In 1875 the image changed to a more ornate Capped Liberty framed with Roman Fasces on either sides. The traditional Roman Fasces consisted of a bundle of birch rods tied together with a ribbon around an axe. The Fasces symbolize power and jurisdiction. A single Roman Fasces can also be found on the reverse of a Mercury Dime (1916-1945).
A third Miss Liberty was used until the late 1800s. In 1885 the image of Thomas Jefferson appeared on Postal Cards. Followed by Ulysses S. Grant in 1891 and then John Adams. A few months after the assassination of President William McKinley his image appeared on USPS Postal Cards. By 1911 the image was once again change, this time to Abraham Lincoln.
As you can see Postal Cards went through many phases and for many years the USPS had a monopoly on Postal Cards. However, on May 19, 1898 Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act that allowed private publishers and printers to produce postcards.







Glyn Farber has published a catalog of all known Hickey Brother Cigar Store Tokens and co-authored a book about Louisiana Trade Tokens. In addition he wrote several articles for The Token and Medal Society (TAMS) and The National Token Collectors Association (NTCA). Glyn has been a devoted collector of Louisiana Trade Tokens, Louisiana collectibles and Lake Charles, LA postcards for almost 40 years.
Find out more information about Postal Cards, Collectibles and Trade Tokens at his web sites http://www.most-popular-collectibles-at-auction.com and http://www.louisiana-trade-tokens.com

Collecting Postcards of Ceylon

Why collect postcards of Ceylon? Because not many people do and it can be a rewarding hobby.

Collecting old postcards is fun - it's fun to track them down, fascinating to study them, and an intriguing way to learn about the past.

The past? Yes, for postcard collecting to be rewarding, you need to focus on a period when picture postcards were a novelty. That means the period at the turn of the 20th century, early 1900 to about 1920.

The pictures on postcards that are a hundred years old are views of a different world.

To make your hobby even more interesting, focus on a particular country or topic.

I suggest collecting postcards of Ceylon as the country no longer exists with that name. It's been called Sri Lanka since 1972, and gained independence from Great Britain in 1948.

In addition, as Ceylon was a popular port of call for steamships plying between Britain and Australia, passengers staying there for a few days (or even weeks) eagerly sought out postcards to send to friends and family back home.

That's resulted in postcards of Ceylon turning up in many countries of Europe, in Australia, and even in the USA, so there are plenty of sources to find Ceylon postcards, even today.

Antique shops generally have a few old postcards tucked away in shoe boxes. Don't expect them to be sorted in any order. You'll just have to leaf through them all.

One problem with collecting something particular is that it is so easy to lose focus and get sidetracked. It's important when confronted with a shoebox stacked with old postcards to concentrate on what you want. You're collecting Ceylon so don't bother to buy cards of the Andamans or India however attractive they might be.

In most antique shops you should be able to pick up postcards for a couple of dollars or a pound or two, unless they are highly desirable, like a postcard of a topless native girl (they do exist) which would be more expensive.

Other sources of Ceylon postcards are specialist map and print dealers. You will also find vintage postcards of Ceylon at the bouquainistes, those dealers selling from boxes perched on the parapet walls of the Seine in Paris.

You should also be able to find them in antique shops in Sri Lanka, although it is unlikely you'll discover mint stock from the 1920s. Some might turn up in the libraries of tea plantation bungalows, forgotten by the many occupants over the years. A modern source, of course, are Internet sites.

The main attraction of collecting vintage postcards from Ceylon (rather than from, say, Singapore) is the amazing number of topics available. Postcards showing tea plantations and tea pluckers are popular, while postcards of railways are rare because of demand by "theme" collectors.

Ceylon's main port, Colombo, is a common view since that's where steamship passengers disembarked in the early 20th century. More sought after are old postcards of 19th century hotels, like the Galle Face and Mount Lavinia Hotels, and The Queen's Hotel in Kandy.

Village views are good to collect, especially if they are of villages that have grown into towns today. People doing odd things that we no longer see, like carrying water on a yoke, pulling a rickshaw, or driving a 1920s car are fun to have.

Equally collectible are postcards of religious sites and ancient ruins (Ceylon has a lot of those) to see how they have changed. Beach scenes are picturesque as beaches weren't the desirable holiday spots they are today.

Postcards of the period are usually printed in black and white. If they have been hand coloured they then become a unique work of art, different from any other postcard showing the same view. Especially attractive are the "Oilette" series of colour postcards published by Raphael Tuck & Sons in England in the 1920s.

How to store your postcards? Putting them in a firm transparent envelope and keeping them in a shoebox is better than sticking them in an album. When they are in a transparent envelope, you can see both sides of the card.

Sometimes the postage stamps or what is written on the back of a postcard is as interesting as the photograph. One card on sale recently was of the Galle Face Hotel on which someone had written in classic script: "This is the only thing free in this hotel."

The best way to display your best postcards is to frame them. Because a postcard is fairly small (about 5 ?" by 3 ?"), its impact will be lost if put in a frame about the same size. Better to choose a large frame and have a huge mount with large margins of a dark colour.

That way the viewer's eye is directed to the postcard and all its glory, and it will be the pride of your collection.

Royston Ellis, author of over 60 biographies, novels and travel guides, now lives in Sri Lanka having left England, where he began as a beat poet, in 1961, age 20, for a life of travel. His latest book, The Big Beat Scene, has just been published by Music Mentor Books. To collect postcards of Ceylon he recommends this site: http://ceylonpostcards.com

http://roystonellis.com

Five Scams and Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Vintage Postcards at Auction to Resell on eBay

There's a trick played at offline auction which also works well online and it's designed to con busy people out of their cash for albums of postcards which are potentially 95% worthless. At any busy offline auction, with say three or four hundred postcard lots and just a few hours viewing time, many potential bidders will view just a few pages of most postcard albums, make a quick buying decision, then move to study another lot.
The con is where vendors include good quality cards in those first few pages and pack the rest with low value or even worthless cards. Much the same happens on eBay and other online sources and in printed catalogues for many offline and online sales, where the first few pages of an album will be photographed in all their glory and the rest - the grot - left to your imagination. Be very careful, check thoroughly at online and offline auction. Ask questions and, if in doubt, it's always better to study a handful of albums thoroughly and bid on these and pass on albums you haven't studied from start to finish.
Here are other scams and mistakes you should take care to avoid:
* Old fashioned albums designed for inserting postcard corners into cut-out hinges can present a major and very unexpected problem for novice postcard buyers. The problem can be caused innocently by past owners or deliberately by recent sellers.
Postcards newly acquired by our Victorian ancestors were often manoeuvred and sometimes manhandled as they were placed beneath hinges, and corners often got cracked or creased in the process. So today hundreds of cards may look in spectacular condition in an album that has not been touched for decades but in fact many cracked corners lie hidden and torn beneath those hinges.
* Try always to attend auctions in person, not only to view but also to bid. Opinions vary and it's not unusual for an auctioneer to describe something as 'old' in the catalogue which in collecting terms is better called 'modern'. You can't always afford to bid on items you haven't viewed, and you must not trust another person's opinion no matter how qualified that person is.
* At offline auction try to check lots immediately before bidding starts. This is because lots are sometimes tampered with, often mistakenly, usually deliberately, and what you viewed yesterday may be totally unlike the lots you'll bid on today. You'll often find postcards you viewed yesterday have since been stolen or damaged. More often postcards are moved between lots so an album that contained rubbish yesterday is packed with high value collectibles today, Consequently that previously rubbish album will go for next to nothing, and those once quality albums, now worthless junk, will be a big disappointment to someone who viewed yesterday and buys today. In cases like this you must contact the auctioneer right away, voice your concerns, suggest you should not be charged for the item. Most will agree if the lot no longer compares to their catalogue description but it's vitally important you check at least some of the expected contents while auction staff are present and can see the problem first hand.
* Sometimes high price items are concealed in old fashioned hinged albums behind less valuable postcards so all most people see is rubbish and low value pieces and bids will be low. It's hard to spot this sort of scam unless you look very closely. It usually happens in albums packed with low value cards, which in itself means this is unlikely to be a genuine collection, namely one that was compiled decades ago. That's because virtually all genuine early collections contain at least a few better specimens; they will also reveal little difference in recipient and delivery address. An album with lots of grot, lots of recipients, lots of delivery addresses, is more likely to be a dealer's rubbish stock, placed in a vintage album to look like a genuine collection and tempt inexperienced bidders. Those concealed high price postcards have been moved from better auction lots and replaced behind poor quality cards in low interest albums. The album will fetch little and might include several high price gems.







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

Good Reasons to Sell Postcards, Mainly Topographical View Postcards, on eBay

They're among the most collectable items and they virtually sell themselves. Postcards rank third most collectable item worldwide, just behind coins and stamps. They're not the bits of worthless paper many people imagine, in fact some amazing prices can be fetched for postcards, notably on eBay, where items flea market visitors consider overpriced at a few pennies can fetch double figure, sometimes three figure sums.

* In the early days of postcard collecting - called 'deltiology' - almost every family had its own album, sometimes several. These heirlooms were cherished and passed through the generations, postcards were rarely destroyed or lost. Consequently many very early postcards remain in undamaged condition today, usually still in their original albums So you can buy hundreds or thousands of postcards in just one day at specialist postcard auctions and non-specialist sales, especially complete household clearances from elderly deceased collectors. You can actually buy hoards of postcards in just a few minutes, where traders in other antiques and collectibles take weeks or months to acquire stock to even contemplate the kind of money you'll soon be making.

* Postcards are usually very small and can be stored safely, close together, side by side in boxes, boxes stacked high one on top of the other. When I traded at postcard fairs, my entire postcard stock, once the biggest in the North of England, occupied a tiny corner of a spare bedroom. Compare this to space needed by sellers of larger, more fragile, unusually shaped antiques and collectibles which need to be stored separately, surrounded by bubble wrap and plastic chips, in varying size boxes which must be placed separately on the floor, not stacked one above the other.

* Postcards are usually all the same shape, roughly the same weight, making them extremely easy to pack, very inexpensive to post. You won't have to waste time looking for boxes of varying size to pack and post your products, as happens to eBayers selling oddly shaped items. All you need are a few cardboard backed envelopes or you could make your own from empty breakfast cereal boxes. Postcards also fit into any local post box so Post Office visits are few as happens for larger more fragile items that need to be individually weighed and postage calculated. Be aware you will have to visit the Post Office to Register or Record Deliver your postcards which is usually quite rare.

* Because so few listing details vary between postcards - usually just location, age, publisher, postmark - you can create a template to suit every postcard you ever list from now to forever, where only a few details need changing each time.

* People who collect one postcard, typically collect lots of postcards, so you could develop a huge customer base of people who will watch your listings closely and buy from you again.

* Listings are easy to keep track of even over several months for items that go unsold first time round. While people selling books and prints, pottery and toys, must be continuously sorting through huge piles of stock to find recently sold items which were listed months before, you can organise the whole process using one of those modern plastic postcard albums with acid-free plastic pockets usually six to a page. Make very certain your pages are acid-free and do not leave the album in a warm or moist location, all cause damage including foxing which depreciates postcards or ruins them completely. Place the first postcard listed in the first pocket on the first page of the album; second card goes into the second pocket (horizontally or vertically, it doesn't matter much). Now when auctions end, starting first product, second product, and so on, you can open the album and begin removing cards in order they are placed in the album, leaving unsold cards in situ. Once all sold cards are removed, move unsold cards forward to fill the empty spaces. Now you can relist all the unsold items which will continue selling in the exact same order they feature in your album and you can begin adding new listings to spaces freed at the back of the album. Cards that remain unsold after a few listings can be moved forward, as before, and listed in bulk with each album page having its own illustration in your listing.

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

Grow Your Profits 100% Selling Collectable Postcards on eBay

There's a very common oversight that means most people selling vintage postcards on eBay end up selling way below their products' potential value. It happens because they omit one word from the description of their postcard in their eBay title, but that one word can deter fifty per cent of buyers from placing their bids. Let me tell you how to avoid this very common problem.

That missing word typically plagues people selling topographical view postcards on eBay, the type that depict places from bygone years, such as villages and towns, cities and even whole countries.

The reason fifty per cent of people who desperately want to bid on a particular topographical postcard don't even see it on eBay is because the seller copies the caption directly the card and ignores the fact that many places have changed their names or their spellings have varied across the decades.

So the place where I live and for which I collect vintage postcards, called 'Monk Hesleden', is often featured on postcards under its old name of 'Low Hesleden' or even 'School Hesleden' as it was known in the early 1900s. And that means if I search for 'Monk Hesleden', I'm going to miss postcards for my home village bearing one of its earlier names in eBay titles.

Also, people wanting collectibles for places like Persia are more likely to search for 'Iran', or vice versa, and others collecting topographical postcards of, say, 'Middlesbrough', will miss listings for the alternative spelling of 'Middlesborough'.

It won't take long to search Google or other major search engines for alternative spellings and names for views depicted on postcards you're selling on eBay and the effort can double or further increase their value.

Learn more about making big profits selling vintage TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW POSTCARDS on eBay at http://www.sellpostcardsonebay.com.

How To Find the Best Deals on Collectible Postcards

In my experience the best deals on collectible postcards are found at auctions, specifically art auctions. One day I stopped by an art auction in Dallas, Texas to shop for some paintings but instead I discovered a large amount of antique collectible postcards. I purchased a giant collection of postcards which consisted of about four thousand cards.

In this large collection almost 20 percent of the post cards were pre-linen. This means that all of these pre-linen cards were created before 1930. Approximately 40 percent of the collection was linen cards. Linen postcards were created between 1930 and 1945.

Finally, the remaining 40 percent of the postcards were chrome collectibles. These cards were created sometime between 1950 and 1960. I also discovered some collectible postcards from a special British museum series.

It took a long time to sort all of the postcards but I finally did it. My favorite postcards were the ones that were designed for holidays. Christmas cards and Valentine's Day cards were especially my favorite as they all featured very nice artwork and messages. I was extremely lucky that my purchase of collectible postcards were so wide-range.

It is very pleasing to find collectible postcards at art auctions. Most of the time, the auctioneer does not really know the true value of the cards. Their lack of knowledge can really work in your favor. I have purchased some amazing collections at very low prices. It is important to be able to distinguish between the different types of postcards like pre-linen, linen and chrome.

The author of this article has developed websites on snake camera and snake video camera which you might find fascinating.

How To Get Into The Hobby Of Collectible Postcards

One hobby that may be underrated is that of collecting postcards. Collecting postcards, especially vintage postcards or those from another country can be educational, fun, and financially rewarding as well. You will be amazed at some of the places that collectible postcards may be found. The most valuable of these are those that were made before 1930 which are called "pre-linen" Cards from that time to the mid 1940s are also in demand. One place to find postcards like these is art auctions.

Another time period that features some relatively valuable collectible postcards is the period from the 50s and 60s, many of which were very brightly colored and were the first to make use of what was known of as the "chrome technology" in printing. Surfing was really popular during the latter part of this period and one can find a diverse collection of postcards from Hawaii and California featuring surfing.

Another great category of postcards are those that were sent for holidays which were made back in the early 1900s. These old cards that depicted things like Santa Claus for Christmas and romantic depictions for the celebration of Valentine's Day. These old postcards often have very detailed and colorful artwork which is why they are in demand as collectibles.

Personally, I like collecting postcards from all over the world. It is so interesting to see how different cultures depict certain things and also the differences in artistic interpretation. As an avid surfer it is fun to me to get postcards from some of the many surf spots we travel to in locations such as Indonesia, Costa Rica, Panama, and of course Hawaii. You can do the same with whatever hobby or interests you may have and collect postcards from countries you visit. Of course one doesn't have to go to a country in order to get the postcards, you can always pick them up on eBay as well or as mentioned you can find them at art auctions. You may be lucky enough to find some at estate sales or even yard sales.

Unless one is very well versed and trained in the art of collecting postcards they may have no idea of how valuable the items may be and in the case of buying them at art auctions they are usually not even announced as part of the available items for sale. This is great for you if you are knowledgeable since you will be able to reap the benefits of knowing what the postcards are actually worth and potentially pick up a great collection for pennies on the dollar.

If you want to get into a fun and very educational hobby then collecting postcards may be for you and if you have children they may find it fun as well.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about collecting postcards as well as postcard collectibles at http://www.actionfiguresandcollectibles.com

Make Money With Postcards

Have you ever thought about trying to make money with postcards. There are several ways, and I am going to briefly explain one of the ways.

First you will have to find someone willing to part with a large number of postcards, or a Lot. This could be a mixed lot or a lot of postcards dealing with a single subject such as realphoto, , Transportation, or anything that you have an interest in and feel that you could sell.

You could easily find this assortment of postcards on eBay. From there you can go to postcards and search through the lots. Find something you like and place a bid on it. If it has a buy it now price you can purchase the cards outright.

Once you have your cards you are ready to make money with postcards. Go through your cards and separate the cards you think will sell and the ones that may not sell quickly as a singular item. During this process you may come across cards that are your personal favorite, and just wish to keep. Go right ahead, now your a collector.

Now that you have separated your cards into two groups (or three) you can start figuring out what to charge for your cards. Say you have a postcard of an old gas station. Go to eBay and look up postcards, then go to gas stations and you will get an idea of what to charge for your card. Scan your card and insert it on eBay. See, that was a snap.

So now your wondering what to do with all of your leftover cards. Well, you just combine them in a lot a sell them as such. You can pretty much keep this wheel turning forever, and in the meantime create quite a nice personal collection of cards. I hope this helped. The main thing is to enjoy your new hobby.

For more information go to [http://www.realpicturepostcards.com]

[http://www.realpicturepostcards.com/Postcards/Real-Photo]