Editing Postcard (section)

{{Short description|Type of postal stationery}}
{{Other uses|Postcard (disambiguation)|Postcards (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|POST card|Postal card}}

[[File:Burns on Ayr Postcard 1899.jpg|thumb|Example of a court card, postmarked 1899, showing [[Robert Burns]] and his cottage and monument in [[Ayr]]]]
[[File:People boarding a train at the Shawnee depot, circa late 1800s - DPLA - e0b201c59bea89f203494f37fe0ee671.jpg|alt=Postcard depicting people boarding a train at the Shawnee Depot in Colorado, late 1800s.|thumb|Postcard depicting people boarding a train at the Shawnee Depot in Colorado, late 1800s]]
A '''postcard''' or '''post card''' is a piece of thick [[paper]] or thin [[Card stock|cardboard]], typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an [[envelope]]. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare.

In some places, one can send a postcard for a lower fee than a [[letter (message)|letter]]. [[Stamp collecting|Stamp collector]]s distinguish between postcards (which require a [[postage stamp]]) and [[postal card]]s (which have the postage pre-printed on them). While a postcard is usually printed and sold by a private company, individual or organization, a postal card is issued by the relevant [[List of postal entities|postal authority]] (often with pre-printed postage).<ref name=":0" />

Production of postcards blossomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |date=2018-11-23 |title=Postcard History {{!}} Smithsonian Institution Archives |url=https://siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/postcard/postcard-history |access-date=2020-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123195447/https://siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/postcard/postcard-history |archive-date=2018-11-23}}</ref> As an easy and quick way for individuals to communicate, they became extremely popular.<ref name=":4" /> The study and collecting of postcards is termed ''[[deltiology]]'' (from Greek {{transliteration|grc|deltion}}, small writing tablet, and the also Greek ''-logy'', the study of).<ref name=":0" />