Postcard format from 1870 to 1894
The origins of the
Picture Postcard

A collecting phenomenon from 1902 to 1920

which continues to the present day

Preface

Plain postcards, with a pre-printed stamp, were introduced by the Post Office in 1870. The address was on one side, and a brief message was allowed on the other.

Private enterprise allowed

From 1 September 1894, the Post Office allowed postcards published by private businesses to be posted. A halfpenny adhesive stamp was to be added to these cards before posting.

Several manufacturers produced cards. The first publisher to include pictures on the cards was believed to have been George Stewart of 92 George Street, Edinburgh. Later research published in Picture Postcard Monthly in 1991, has shown that the first British picture card was published by ETW Dennis of Scarborough. Two postmarked examples of the September 1894 E T W Dennis card have survived.

These early cards had the address on one side, and the message and the picture were on the other side.

This meant that the picture was very limited in size, although a view could be slightly larger than a CDV. Between 1895 and 1899 Court Cards were issued - these were smaller than the old size postcards we're used to, being 4.75 inches by 3.5 inches and these had a small picture on one side, the address to be written on the other.

Size matters!

Production of picture postcards increased dramatically after November 1st 1899, when the British Postal Authority allowed an increase in size to 5 ½ inches x 3 ½ inches. Messrs Raphael Tuck & Sons were the first to print picture postcards in the new size.


Old format postcard
 		Even in Bury St Edmunds!

In Bury St Edmunds the booksellers Paul and Mathew published several postcards in this format. The photographers are unknown.

This format required the picture to be adjusted to best fit the space allowed, leaving only half the card for the message. The reverse was allowed to contain nothing but the address, with the stamp affixed to the top right hand corner.


Coffins of Five Abbots excavated 1st January, 1903
 		The modern format arrives in 1902

The popular collectors' format which we know today did not arrive until 1902. In 1902 the Post Office introduced new regulations covering Picture Postcards. When pictures were first allowed in 1894, one whole side of the postcard had had to be reserved for the name and address. In 1902 the modern format was introduced where one whole side (the front) could be used for the picture. Message and address now shared the other side, (the back.)

The “split back” or "divided back" ruling gave rise to an immediate explosion of popularity for the picture postcard and heralded the “Golden Age of Postcards”.


Ernie and his new cycle 1905
 		On the face of it, this change seems to be of little consequence to us today, but in fact this change led to a vast production of picture postcards covering a wide range of views. Individuals could commission a few pictures of themselves with family, or as this illustration shows, a new object of pride to the owner. Many of these everyday scenes had little apparent merit at the time, perhaps, but are packed with information for modern eyes to consider. Many of the illustrations used in this Chronicle and other historical books come from photographs produced for postcards.

Lifespan of the picture postcard

The craze for collecting picture postcards would reduce the demand for the CDV slightly after 1894, and more greatly after 1902, until by 1906 postcard collecting became a national obsession.

People not only sent them to pass on news or information, they sent them simply to add a nice view or a known celebrity to someone's collection.

A magazine was published from 1900-7 to cater for the craze, and publishers met the demand by issuing postcards onevery conceivable subject. Millions of postcards went through the postal system every week, and a high proportion finished up in someone's album, to be rediscovered by collectors in the second half of the twentieth century.

Before the telephone became popular, the postcard provided the closest thing to near-instant communication. The postal service was reliable and next day delivery was taken for granted. In some localities there were more than one delivery a day. Messages such as " I will be on the 7.05 train tonight" were not unusual.


W R Burrell's first postcard of soldiers, August 1914
 		Impact of the First World War, 1914 to 1918

A lot of cards had been printed in Germany prior to 1914, but this supply ceased abruptly. British cards now often included a note such as, "Entirely British made."

The First World War or Great War increased the use of postcards because of the large numbers sent to and from the troops. Many sentimental messages were produced for this purpose, as were cards with badges of the British Regiments. Some of these were produced in silk. Photographs of soldiers in training camps around the countryside were quickly produced and bought by soldiers to send home. The main local producer of such postcards was Walton Robert Burrell.

Many humorous cards were popular, often with sideswipes at those in authority, or later, mocking the food shortages.

Postage stamps on postcards

Postal rates for sending a postcard were as follows:-

  • Until 1918 - 1/2d (Halfpenny)
  • June 1918 - increased to 1d
  • January 1921 - increased to 1 1/2d (three halfpence)
  • 1922 - postage reduced to 1d again following public protests


Barton Mills Crossroads 1927
 		Postcard collecting after 1918

Partly due to the rapid advance of the telephone immediately after the War, the use of postcards began to decline and never recovered from the heyday of the “Golden Age”.

Postcard collecting and sending did have some revival after the war ended in 1918, especially when pictures of all the local war memorials were produced in the early 1920s. Collecting these never achieved the popularity it had enjoyed during the first 15 years of the 1900s, and so fewer survive to us today.

The postcards of the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s up to the Second World War are keenly collected today because they provide a running commentary on social history and the world as it appeared in those years. Often with unmade roads and traffic free streets as we see here at the crossroads at Barton Mills, now a large and busy roundabout on the A11 to Norwich.

During the late 1940s and 1950s there was another revival of production. These postcards are also collected today as much has changed since then and these postcards can revive childhood memories of how things were back then.

Today the collecting of postcards is second only to stamp collecting as a major collecting interest.

This article was produced by David Addy to illustrate how postcards came to experience an explosion of popularity from about 1902 to around 1920.
Go to Photography Homepage Created 27th April 2019
Last updated 25th June 2019		 Go to Main Home Page