Scenic Postcards

A postcard is a rectangular card which at one time could only be bought through the postal service. They were invented in 1861 and first used in Turkey. They were simple white cards favored by immigrants and their families as a way of keeping in touch while miles apart. These cards were a quick way for people to send a note.

Until 1898 in the U.S. post cards were illegal to be made by anyone the Postal Service. The real birth of the postcard was in the early 1900’s when private publishers were allowed to start making their own. Most cards in the early 1900’s had scenes painted on the card surface, as photography was not yet advanced enough for printing. The postage on these cards was one cent.

The early post cards were created and painted for advertising purposes with scenes of natural landmarks, or funny pictures and cartoons. By 1905 the popularity of these cards grew and many were collected and saved. By the 1960’s real photo cards were printed with scenes of nature on them, and becoming more popular than the older advertising post cards. These cards often had scenes of 1960’s counter culture.

The use of scenic post cards became popular in the 1960’s and continues through today. Scenic photo postcards are a very good way to drop a note to let people know you are thinking of them, they also work as “thank-you” cards, or are kept as a souvenir of a place visited.