Collecting postcards is an exciting hobby

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

How many people, so many different hobbies. Someone collects badges, someone figurines or antiques, and there are people who love to collect postcards. Collecting postcards is called philocarty. For some, this activity is a very exciting hobby. Even despite the fact that today postcards are practically not used, this hobby does not lose popularity.

When postcards appeared

Postcards appeared back in 1870. At the very beginning of their existence, they looked very ordinary, like stationery forms now. But 20 years passed, and the world saw the first greeting card. The first examples were dedicated to such holidays as Christmas and Easter.

The man who sent the first greeting card was called Henry Cuoli. It seemed to him that it was too difficult to send a letter to congratulate relatives, and he decided to simply write their names and congratulations on a postcard, onwhich was adorned with a Christmas tree. A little time passed, and his idea was to the taste of a large number of Englishmen and postcards began to be popular, they disperse all over the world.

Initially, postcards were drawn, but in the first half of the 20th century, with the advent of the camera, they became photographic. In the same XX century, the fashion for philocarty appeared. In the 60s and 70s of the last century, collecting postcards with photos of famous actresses became popular, but in the 90s it changed, and postcards with images of dogs and cats began to be collected.

The popularity of philocarty

The postcard has come a very long and rather fascinating way. At the time of their appearance, people did not yet know that collecting postcards is called philocarty. They have found their application in various scientific works, they illustrated school textbooks, and they often organize special exhibitions that take place around the world.

The first illustrated postcards were called view postcards. They are very popular today. They depict various cities from around the world, as well as their main attractions. Such postcards used to serve as educational cards for people, since the Internet and access to a large amount of information appeared not so long ago.

Emotional, having their own character and mood, funny postcards appeared relatively recently. Collecting postcards of this nature quickly gained popularity. The authors of modern cards show imagination by drawing them withdeclarations of love, jokes and even with their own heroes. For example, a character like Baby Shi is famous all over the world.

Collecting postcards at astronomical prices also attracts many people. Today, the most expensive known postcard was bought at an auction in England, its cost was 22 thousand pounds sterling. But, of course, a postcard for the soul cannot be more expensive than from a loved one. She will give love and kindness.

Collecting USSR postcards

In the Soviet Union, marked and unmarked postcards were issued, they left a place for gluing a stamp. Some fans can find such collectible postcards on which stamps are mistakenly pasted on the front side, they are especially valued and considered a rarity. Especially those where the stamp, which has the wrong position, is printed in the printing house. One of the most famous such postcards of the USSR is the one that depicts the experimental car "Khadi-7".

Many in the Union issued greeting cards for public holidays, anniversaries or birthday greetings. For modern collectors, this is the most common and fashionable type of postcard. They are inexpensive, in the range of 20-50 rubles per piece. But if the copy is very rare, then its value can be much higher.

Types of postcards

Postcards can be divided into suchspecies:

- Congratulatory - occupies the main place among those that are used to congratulate on any holiday, anniversary, celebration.

- Species - produced in large series, they depict various professions, sports, festivities, city landscapes.

- Reproduction - images on such postcards are reproductions of paintings.

- Artistic - mass-produced. Helps to get acquainted with the work of any unknown artists.

- Advertising - advertising information about a cafe or company is applied to it.

- Historical-event - depicts either significant or tragic events that occurred in the past.

- Political - depicts political figures of the past and present, parties, organizations.

- Patriotic - the most popular postcard during the Great Patriotic War, raising the spirits of citizens.

- Photo postcard - having a photo of some city or landscape on the front side. There can be as many topics as you like.

- Business - appeared recently, they are designed to congratulate employees, business partners.

Collecting art photographic postcards

This is a very interesting kind of collecting. Such postcards usually depict paintings not only by unknown artists, but even famous ones. Art photographic postcards can fetch quite a high price from collectors. There are times when, thanks to such a postcard,people recognize the work of a previously unpopular artist, and he becomes quite famous.

Storing the collection

This question is of great importance. It depends on him to quickly find the required postcard, as well as safety, because usually collectors have a large number of postcards.

So that they do not deteriorate, there are 3 main ways of storage: landscape, card index, in envelopes. Each method has its pros and cons, but they are all used by collectors.

Collecting postcards, even today, does not lose its popularity.