Pioneer Era (1893-1898)
Although
there were earlier scattered issues, most pioneer cards in
today's collections begin with the cards placed on sale at
Chicago's Columbian Exposition in May of 1893. These were
illustrations on government printed postal cards and
privately printed souvenir cards. The government postal
cards had the printed 1˘ stamp while the souvenir cards
required a 2˘ adhesive postage stamp to be applied to it.
Writing was not permitted on the address side of the
cards.
Private
Mailing Card Era (1889-1901)
On
May 19, 1898, private printers were granted permission, by
an act of Congress, to print and sell cards that bore the
inscription "Private Mailing Card." Today some people call
these cards PMCs. Postage required was a 2˘ adhesive stamp.
A dozen or more American printers began to take postcards
seriously. As with the Pioneer Era cards, writing was not
permitted on the address side.
Post
Card Era (1901-1907)
The
use of the words "POST CARD" was granted to private
printers by the U.S. government on December 24, 1901.
Writing was still not permitted on the address side. In
this era private citizens began to take black & white
photographs and have them printed on paper with post card
backs.
Divided
Back Era (1907-1914)
Postcards with a divided
back were permitted March 1, 1907. The address to be
written on the right side and the left side was for writing
messages. Many millions of cards were published in this
era. Up to this point most postcards were printed in
Germany, which was far ahead of the United States in the
lithographic processes. With the advent of World War I the
supply of postcards from Germany ended.
White
Border Era (1915-1930)
Most
postcards during this era were printed in the USA during
this period. To save ink, a border was left around the view
thus they are referred to as "White Border" cards. A high
cost of labor, inexperience and public taste caused
production of poor quality cards.
Linen
Era (1930-1944)
New
production processes allowed printing on post cards with
high “rag” content that caused a
“linen-like” finish. These inexpensive cards
allowed the use of gaudy dyes for coloring. The firm of
Curt Teich flourished on their line of linen postcards.
Photochrome
Era (1945 to present date)
The
“chrome” postcards started to dominate the
scene soon after they were launched by the Union Oil
Company in their western service stations in
1939.
Real
Photographs
Real
photos are just that. A photograph was taken and developed.
A caption was often hand-written on the negative, often
glass. The photograph was printed on special postcard
stock. Many real photos are one of a kind. Some were,
relatively mass produced, usually by a photographer. Some
clues are that if the caption is not neat, it probably was
one of a kind. Mass produced cards usually were neater.
Some of them carry the name of the
photographer.
Source:
www.terrycallahan.com