Editing Postcard (section)

== History ==
=== 1840 to 1864 ===
[[File:Lipmancard.jpg|thumb|Lipman's Postal Card]]
Cards with messages have been sporadically created and posted by individuals since the beginning of postal services. The [[World's oldest postcard|earliest known picture postcard]] was a hand-painted design on card created by the writer [[Theodore Hook]]. Hook posted the card, which bears a [[penny black]] stamp, to himself in 1840 from [[Fulham]] (part of London).<ref name="Guinness World Records">{{cite web |title=Oldest picture postcard |website=Guinness World Records |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-picture-postcard |access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="BBC"/> He probably did so as a practical joke on the postal service, since the image is a caricature of workers in the post office.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news |date=2002-03-08 |title=Oldest postcard sells for £31,750 |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1862284.stm |access-date=2012-06-16}}</ref><ref>Arifa Akbar, "Oldest picture postcard in the world snapped up for £31,750", The Independent, 9 March 2002.</ref> In 2002 the postcard sold for a record £31,750.<ref name="BBC"/>

In the United States, the custom of sending through the mail, at letter rate, a picture or blank card stock that held a message, began with a card postmarked in December 1848 containing printed advertising.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pre History of the Postcard 1848–1872 |publisher=Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City |url=http://www.metropostcard.com/history1848-1872.html |access-date=2013-02-01 |archive-date=2017-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024165752/http://www.metropostcard.com/history1848-1872.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first commercially produced card was created in 1861 by [[John P. Charlton]] of [[Philadelphia]], who patented a private postal card, and sold the rights to [[Hymen Lipman]], whose postcards, complete with a decorated border, were marketed as "Lipman's Postal Card".<ref name=":0">{{cite web |author=United States Postal Service |date=September 2014 |title=Stamped Cards and Postcards |website=United States Postal Service |url=https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/stamped-cards-and-postcards.pdf |access-date=2020-03-31 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826134028/https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/stamped-cards-and-postcards.pdf |archive-date=2019-08-26}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> These cards had no images. While the United States government allowed privately printed cards as early as February 1861, they saw little use until 1870, when experiments were done on their commercial viability.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=Petrulis |first=Alan |title=MetroPostcard History of Postcards 1873–1897 |website=www.metropostcard.com |url=http://www.metropostcard.com/history1873-1897.html |access-date=2020-04-01 |archive-date=2022-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411155629/http://www.metropostcard.com/history1873-1897.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":4" />

=== First postals and private postcards (c. 1865 to 1880) ===
[[File:Feldpost-Correspondenzkarte.jpg|left|thumb|"Feldpost-Correspondenzkarte" ({{lit|field post correspondence card}}) used during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870]]
A [[Prussia]]n postal official, [[Heinrich von Stephan]], first proposed an "open post-sheet" made of stiff paper in 1865.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{cite web |last=Cure |first=Monica |date=2013-06-22 |title=Tweeting by mail: The postcard's stormy birth |website=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2013-jun-22-la-oe-cure-postcards-twitter-20130623-story.html |access-date=2020-04-01}}</ref> He proposed that one side would be reserved for a recipient address, and the other for a brief message.<ref name=":2" /> His proposal was denied on grounds of being too radical and officials did not believe anyone would willingly give up their privacy.<ref name=":2" /> In October 1869, the post office of [[Austria-Hungary]] accepted a similar proposal, also without images, and 3 million cards were mailed within the first three months.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> With the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870, the government of the [[North German Confederation]] decided to take the advice of Austrian [[Emanuel Herrmann]] and issued postals for soldiers to inexpensively send home from the field.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />

The period from 1870 to 1874 saw a great number of countries begin the issuance of postals. In 1870, the North German Confederation was joined by Baden, Bavaria, Great Britain, Luxembourg and Switzerland.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5">{{cite web |title=Chicago Postcard Museum – How to Age a Postcard |website=www.chicagopostcardmuseum.org |url=http://www.chicagopostcardmuseum.org/postcard_age.html |access-date=2020-04-01}}</ref> The year 1871 saw Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden introduce their own postals.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> Algeria, Chile, France and Russia did so in 1872, and were followed by France, Japan, Romania, Serbia, Spain and the United States between 1873 and 1874.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":1" /> Many of these postals included small images on the same side as the postage.<ref name=":1" /> Postcards began to be sent internationally after the first Congress of the [[Universal Postal Union|General Postal Union]], which met in Bern, Switzerland in October 1874.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{cite web |title=Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776–1949 Compiled under the direction of Charles I. Bevans LL.B. |website=avalon.law.yale.edu |url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/usmu010.asp|access-date=2020-04-01}}</ref> The Treaty of Bern was ratified in the United States in 1875.<ref name=":6" />[[File:Conlie postcard.jpg|thumb|The claimed first printed picture postcard]]The first known printed picture postcard, with an image on one side, was created in France in 1870 at [[Camp Conlie]] by Léon Besnardeau (1829–1914). Conlie was a training camp for soldiers in the [[Franco-Prussian war|Franco-Prussian War]]. The cards had a lithographed design printed on them containing emblematic images of piles of armaments on either side of a scroll topped by the arms of the [[Duchy of Brittany]] and the inscription "War of 1870. Camp Conlie. Souvenir of the National Defence. Army of Brittany" (in French).<ref>''The New York Times'', September 21, 1904.</ref> While these are certainly the first known picture postcards, there was no space for stamps and no evidence that they were ever posted without envelopes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Histoire de la Carte Postale, Cartopole, Baud |language=fr |publisher=Cartolis.org |url=http://www.cartolis.org/histoire.php |access-date=2012-06-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718170635/http://www.cartolis.org/histoire.php |archive-date=2011-07-18}}</ref>

In Germany, the bookdealer August Schwartz from [[Oldenburg (city)|Oldenburg]] is regarded as the inventor of the illustrated postcard. On July 16, 1870, he mailed a post correspondence card with an image of a man with a cannon, signaling the looming Franco-Prussian war.<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/instagram-19th-century-style-the-first-german-postcard/a-54200932 Dagmar Breitenbach: Instagram, 19th-century style: The first German postcard] In: Deutsche Welle, July 16, 2020, Retrieved 2021-02-07.</ref><ref>[http://www.tpa-project.info/TPA_21_1.pdf Helmfried Luers: The First Picture Postcard] In: The Postcard Album #21, Retrieved 2021-02-07.</ref>

In the following year the first known picture postcard in which the image functioned as a [[souvenir]] was sent from [[Vienna]].<ref>Frank Staff, ''The Picture Postcard & Its Origins'', New York: F.A. Praeger, p.51.</ref> The first advertising card appeared in 1872 in Great Britain and the first German card appeared in 1874. Private advertising cards started appearing in the United States around 1873, and qualified for a special postage rate of one cent.<ref name=":1" /> Private cards inspired Lipman's card were also produced concurrently with the U.S. government postal in 1873.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> The backs of these private cards contained the words "Correspondence Card", "Mail Card" or "Souvenir Card" and required two-cent postage if they were written upon.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />

=== Golden age of postcards (c. 1890 to 1915) ===
Cards showing images increased in number during the 1880s. Images of the newly built [[Eiffel Tower]] in 1889 and 1890 gave impetus to the postcard, leading to the so-called "golden age" of the picture postcard.<ref name=":1" /> This golden age began slightly earlier in Europe than the United States, likely due to a [[Panic of 1893|depression in the 1890s]].<ref name=":1" /> Still, the [[World's Columbian Exposition|Chicago World's Fair]] in 1893 excited many attendees with its line of "Official Souvenir" postals, which popularized the idea of picture postcards.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/qc16510ess.htm|title=Postcard Collection – Essay, Appendix C: New York State Library|last=Bassett|first=Fred|date=2018-12-13|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213031237/http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/qc16510ess.htm|archive-date=2018-12-13|access-date=2020-04-01}}</ref> The stage was now set for private postcard industry to boom, which it did once the United States government changed the postage rate for private cards from two cents to one in May 1898.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":7" />

Spanning from approximately 1905 to 1915 in the United States, the golden age of postcards stemmed from a combination of social, economic, and governmental factors.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":7" /> Demand for postcards increased, government restrictions on production loosened, and technological advances (in photography, printing, and mass production) made the boom possible.<ref name=":0" /> In addition, the expansion of [[Rural Free Delivery]] allowed mail to be delivered to more American households than ever before.<ref name=":0" /> Billions of postcards were mailed during the golden age, including nearly a billion per year in United States from 1905 to 1915, and 7 billion worldwide in 1905.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":19">{{Cite journal|last=Baldwin|first=Brooke|date=1988|title=On the Verso: Postcard Messages as a Key to Popular Prejudices|journal=Journal of Popular Culture|volume=22|issue=3|pages=15–28|doi=10.1111/j.0022-3840.1988.2203_15.x}}</ref> Many postcards from this era were in fact never posted but directly acquired by collectors themselves.<ref name=":11" />[[File:Austrian Postcard 1901.jpg|thumb|Austrian postcard from 1901]]

Despite years of incredible success, economic and government forces would ultimately spell the end of the golden age. The peak came sometime between 1907 and 1910 for the United States.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> In 1909, American publishers successfully lobbied to place tariffs on high quality German imports with the [[Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act|Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act]].<ref name=":0" /> The effects of tariffs really started to make a large impact, and escalating hostilities in Europe made it difficult to import cards and ink into the United States.<ref name=":0" /> The fad may have also simply run its natural course.<ref name=":0" /> The war disrupted production efforts in Europe, although postcard production did not entirely stop.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=http://www.metropostcard.com/history1914-1945.html|title=MetroPostcard History of Postcards 1914–1945|last=Petrulis|first=Alan|website=www.metropostcard.com|access-date=2020-04-01|archive-date=2020-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203183215/http://www.metropostcard.com/history1914-1945.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cards were still useful for propaganda, and for boosting troop morale.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":10" /><ref>Frank Jacob and Mark D. Van Ells, ''A Postcard View of Hell: One Doughboy's Souvenir Album of the First World War''. Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press, 2019.</ref>

=== Post-World War I (1918 to present) ===
[[File:Postcard depicting Dalhousie Street, Amherstburg, Ontario (I0026093).jpg|alt=A street with buildings and hydro lines on both sides. There is a horse and buggy parked on the street.|thumb|upright|Postcard depicting Dalhousie Street, Amherstburg, Ontario, {{Circa|1920}}, from the [[c:Category:Images from Archives of Ontario - F 2076 Alvin D. McCurdy fonds|Alvin D. McCurdy fonds]] held at the Archives of Ontario]]
After the war, the production of postcards continued, albeit in different styles than before. Demand for postcards decreased, especially as telephone usage grew.<ref name=":0" /> There was still a need for postcards, which would be dubbed the "poor man's telephone".<ref>Gendreau, Bianca: Putting Pen to Paper, Special Delivery: Canada's Postal Heritage, ed. Francine Brousseau, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Fredericton 2000, pp. 27–29</ref> As tastes changed, publishers began focusing on scenic views, humor, and fashion.<ref name=":10" /> "White border" cards, which existed prior to the war, were produced in greater numbers from roughly 1915 to 1930 in the United States.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> They required less ink and had lower production standards than fine German cards.<ref name=":10" /> These were later replaced by "linen" postcards in the 1930s and 1940s, which used a printing process popularized by [[Curt Teich]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> Finally, the modern era of Photochrom (often shortened simply to "chrome") postcards began in 1939, and gained momentum around 1950.<ref name=":4" /> These glossy, colorful postcards are what we most commonly encounter today.<ref name=":4" /> Postcard sales dropped to around 25% of 1990s levels,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Settembre|first=Jeanette|date=30 Sep 2017|title=Postcards are becoming extinct and 5 other industries millennials are killing|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/postcards-are-becoming-extinct-and-5-other-industries-millennials-are-killing-2017-09-30|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-01|website=MarketWatch|language=en-US}}</ref> with the growing popularity of social media around 2007, resulting in closure of long-established printers such as [[J Salmon Ltd]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-09-25|title=Postcards on the edge as Britain's oldest publishers signs off|url=http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/2017/sep/25/postcards-demise-britains-oldest-publisher-industry-death|access-date=2021-02-01|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>