collecting stamps and coins - The Vancouver Postcard Club show and sale

5630 Dunbar St. at 41st Ave.
604-684-4613

Newsletter #175, May 31, 2009
The Vancouver Postcard Club Show and Sale Back to Newsletter index		Well, the deltiologists were up to their old tricks again today. The Vancouver Postcard Club held their annual show and sale at the Hastings Community Centre, across from Playland. There was a lot of activity in the early afternoon when this author was there, but a fellow I was chatting with said it had been even busier in the morning. The club was formed in 1981 and has been holding the Show and Sale since 1988. Monthly meetings are also held at HCC on the second Sunday of the month except for July and August.
Postcards were invented in the USA in 1861 as a method for people to send short notes to others at a lesser rate than a letter. Collectors distinguish a postcard as requiring a stamp, from a postal card, usually issued by the postal authority, having a pre-printed stamp on it. John P. Charlton of Philadelphia patented the postcard in 1861, selling the rights to H. L. Lipman, whose postcards, complete with a decorated border, were labeled "Lipman's postal card." Nine years later European countries were also producing postcards. The United States Postal Service began issuing pre-stamped postal cards in 1873.
		The USPS was the only establishment allowed to print post cards, and it held its monopoly until May 19, 1898, when Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which allowed private publishers and printers to produce post cards.

		Initially, the United States government prohibited private companies from calling their cards “postcards,” so they were known as “souvenir cards.” Although this prohibition was rescinded in 1901, it was not until 1908 that people were permitted to write on the address side of a postcard.


A 1905 postcard where the message had to be written on the front and only the address could be written on the back		Government postal cards and privately printed souvenir cards, became very popular as a result of the Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, after postcards featuring buildings were distributed at the fair. In 1908, more than 677 million postcards were mailed. 1901 brought cards with the word "Post Card" printed on the reverse (the side without the picture). Written messages were still restricted to the front side, with the entire back dedicated to the address. This "undivided back" is what gives this postcard era its name.

Eight club members put together displays based on artist, theme, location and other content.		Shortly thereafter the United States government, via the United States Postal Service, allowed printers to publish a 1-cent postcard (the "Penny Postcard"). A correspondent's writing was allowed only on the front side of these cards. The "divided back" card, with space for a message on the address side, came into use in the United States in 1907. The back is divided into two sections, the left section being used for the message and the right for the address. Thus began the Golden Age of American postcards, which lasted until about 1915, when World War I blocked the import of the fine German-printed cards.

A WWI era card with a Canadian army soccer team, the team members are listed on the back. This is on of several postcards offered in the weekly Saturday auction		The "white border" era, named for obvious reasons, lasted from about 1916 to 1930. The "linen card" era lasted from about 1931 to the early 1950s, when cards were primarily printed on papers with a textured surface similar to linen cloth. The last and current postcard era, which began about 1939, is the "chrome" era, however these types of cards didn't begin to dominate until about 1950. The images on these cards are generally based on colored photographs, and are readily identified by the glossy appearance given by the paper's coating.

A 1909 photo postcard of Winnipeg. Having been born and raised there, it is one of the few cities that looks exactly the same in 2009.		In 1973 the British Post Office introduced a new type of card, PHQ Cards, these have since become a popular collecting area, especially when they have the appropriate stamp affixed and a First day of issue postmark obtained. In 1894, British publishers were given permission by the Royal Mail to manufacture and distribute picture postcards, which could be sent through the post. The first UK postcards were produced by printing firm Stewarts of Edinburgh and early postcards were pictures of famous landmarks, scenic views, photographs or drawings of celebrities and so on. With steam locomotives providing fast and affordable travel, the seaside became a popular tourist destination, and generated its own souvenir industry: the picture postcard was, and is, an essential staple of this industry. Brian Grant Duff of All Nations Stamp and Coin has more than a little expertise in the field of postcard collecting and regularly features postcards in the store's regular Sturday auction. The 2 cards above are examples. Other cards in this week's auction are shown bellow.


		This card is a franked Japanese military service card from occupying Japanese soldiers in China, writing home to their families. There are 3 cards in this lot.

		A 1912 German air mail Zeppelin postcard. And finally, from this authors collection.

		An 1898 postcard from the Bangkok United Club to notify its members about an upcoming commitee meeting. The printed stamp shows King Chulalonghorn the Great, the student of Anna Leonowens of "Anna and the King" fame. Visit the Vancouver Postcard Club web site.
		Back to index Newsletter #176 coming soon

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All Nations Stamp & Coin

5630 Dunbar St. at 41st Ave.
Vancouver, BC, V6N 1W7

Phone: 604-684-4613

e-mail: collect@direct.ca