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History of Postcards Timeline

(1861–Present)

The history of postcards traces how inexpensive illustrated messages evolved from simple postal cards into popular souvenirs, collectibles, and cultural records. Less

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Early American postcards

Early private cards enter circulation

1861 - 1870

Privately printed mailing cards circulated before the government issued its own postal cards. Their backs commonly carried labels such as “Correspondence Card,” “Mail Card,” or “Souvenir Card.”

Privately printed cards authorized

Feb 27, 1861

An act passed by the U.S. Congress allowed privately printed cards weighing one ounce or less to be sent through the mail, establishing an early legal basis for American privately produced postcards.

Lipman begins reissuing private cards

1870

Hymen L. Lipman acquired the rights to an early private card and began reissuing the cards under his own name in 1870.

Interstate Industrial Exposition depicted

1873

The Interstate Industrial Exposition in Chicago became the subject of the first early advertising postcard, although the card was not intended as a souvenir.

U.S. expositions create postcard subjects

1873 - 1900

The many world's fairs and expositions held across the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries supplied recurring subjects for postcard imagery.

Morgan claims first American postcard

1873

The Morgan Envelope Factory of Springfield, Massachusetts, claimed to have produced the first American postcard.

First U.S. souvenir postcard created

1893

A postcard created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago is identified as the first postcard printed explicitly as a souvenir in the United States.

Image source: World's Columbian Exposition

First U.S. souvenir postcard created

Cotton States exposition mix-up

1895

A major mix-up occurred at the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, becoming a notable episode in the early history of exposition postcards.

Image source: Cotton States and International Exposition

Cotton States exposition mix-up

Postal reforms and commercialization

Creswell recommends one-cent postal cards

Nov 1870

U.S. Postmaster General John Creswell recommended that Congress authorize one-cent postal cards, promoting a cheaper standardized form of mailed correspondence.

Government postal cards authorized

Jun 8, 1872

Legislation passed on June 8, 1872, authorized the United States government to produce postal cards.

Postal card sales continue growing

1873 - 1910

The number of postal cards sold continued to grow from the 1870s through 1910, laying the commercial foundation for the later postcard boom.

First U.S. postal card issued

May 1873

The first government-produced American postal card was issued in May 1873, following the legislation that permitted government production.

First postal card sold in Springfield

May 12, 1873

The new postal card first went on sale in Springfield, Massachusetts, on May 12, 1873.

Postal card sales reach 31 million

Jun 1873

Nationwide sales of postal cards reached 31 million by the end of June 1873, demonstrating the immediate popularity of inexpensive postal correspondence.

Postal card sales exceed 64 million

Sep 1873

More than 64 million postal cards had been sold nationwide by the end of September 1873.

Private cards receive one-cent postage

1898

The 1898 act equalized the mailing rate for private and government-produced postcards, reducing private-card postage to one cent instead of the previous two cents.

Private mailing cards officially authorized

May 19, 1898

Congress authorized private printers and publishers to produce postcards officially and to mail them at the one-cent rate previously available to government-produced postal cards.

Private mailing card wording required

May 19, 1898 - Dec 24, 1901

Private cards were required to state “Private Mailing Card, Authorized by Act of Congress of May 19, 1898,” marking their legal status under the new system.

1898 act citation no longer required

Dec 24, 1901

The 1901 order allowed private publishers to omit the citation to the 1898 congressional act from their cards.

Postcard wording prohibition rescinded

Dec 24, 1901

Postmaster-General Order No. 1447 rescinded the prohibition on additional wording and shortened the required statement for privately published postcards.

Divided backs introduced in Great Britain

1902

Divided-back postcards were introduced to Great Britain in 1902, five years before their introduction in the United States.

Message space authorized on U.S. cards

Mar 1, 1907

A Universal Postal Congress decree allowed messages on the address side of U.S. government-issued postcards beginning March 1, 1907.

Private divided backs authorized in the U.S

Mar 1, 1907

An act passed by Congress on March 1, 1907, extended the address-side message provision to privately produced postcards, enabling the modern divided-back format.

Postcard production eras

Textured postcard papers continue

1900 - 1939

Textured papers had been manufactured for postcards since the turn of the century and remained part of postcard production before the later chrome era.

White border era begins

1913 - 1930

The white border era of postcard production lasted approximately from 1913 to 1930.

Linen postcard era begins

1930 - 1945

Mid-century linen postcards were produced in great quantity from 1930 to 1945, although production continued for more than a decade after Photochrom cards appeared.

Photochrom cards introduced

1931

Photochrom postcards were first introduced in 1931. Their growing popularity was interrupted by the outbreak of war.

Chrome postcard era begins

1939

The current postcard era began around 1939 with chrome postcards, a shortened form of Photochrom in American English.

Chrome cards delayed by World War II

1939 - 1945

Although the chrome era began around 1939, wartime shortages during World War II delayed the cards' dominance.

Chrome postcards become dominant

1950

Chrome postcards did not begin to dominate the market until about 1950, after wartime shortages had eased and the newer photographic format could expand.

Golden age

Postcards become cultural historical sources

1900 - 1910

Especially after 1900, postcards became wildly successful as correspondence and collectibles. Their written messages and illustrated imagery made them valuable sources for studying popular culture and social norms.

Leather postals become popular

Oct 1, 1904 - Feb 1905

References to “leather postals” and “leather post cards” began appearing in U.S. newspapers in late 1904, and the cards were in popular use by Valentine's Day 1905.

American postcard golden age begins

1905 - 1918

The golden age of American postcards began around 1905 and broadly lasted until World War I, as postcards became a mass medium for correspondence and collecting.

Postcard craze peaks

1907 - 1910

The American postcard craze peaked between 1907 and 1910, with especially strong popularity among rural and small-town women in the Northern United States.

Postcard mailings approach 700 million

Jun 30, 1908

Nearly 700 million postcards were mailed in the year ending June 30, 1908, illustrating the extraordinary scale of the golden-age postcard market.

German postcard tariffs introduced

1909

Tariffs on German-printed postcards, introduced in 1909, contributed to the end of the peak period by making a major source of inexpensive illustrated cards less competitive.

Image source: Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act

German postcard tariffs introduced

Payne–Aldrich tariff begins postcard decline

1909

The decline of the postcard boom began with the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, which was heavily supported by American publishers seeking protection from German competition.

World War I blockade reinforces decline

1914

The British naval blockade of German merchant ships at the outbreak of World War I reinforced the effects of tariffs and further disrupted the postcard trade.

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Key Facts

  1. The first known privately printed postcard was created in the United States by John P. Charlton in 1861.
  2. Austria issued the world's first government-produced postcard in 1869, helping establish the format internationally.
  3. The United States introduced the penny postcard in 1873, making postcard communication affordable for a broad public.
  4. The Golden Age of postcards, from about 1905 to 1915, saw enormous growth in illustrated cards, tourism cards, and holiday greetings.
  5. Although digital communication reduced everyday postcard use, postcards remain important as collectibles, souvenirs, historical sources, and art objects.

Source

This History of Postcards timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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