Historical Chinese Postcard Project: 1896 - 1920

 
       
 

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A Short History of Postcards

Authors: RĂ©gine Thiriez
Date: May 2004


When were postcards born? The story says that in 1869 in Austria, a civil servant decided he would save time by sticking his stamps directly on cards. The idea caught up immediately. Stores used them to receive orders, etc. Early postcards had space for the address on one side and the message on the other. Stamps were pre-printed on the cards. Issuing postcards was a state monopoly.

The end of the century -- about 1896 -- saw a change towards the photographic postcard as we know it. More efficient and economical processes for the mechanical copy of photographs were invented. They allowed large scale production of quality images at low cost.

This went with two important changes. The end of government monopolies on postcards issuing allowed private publishers to enter the market, while lower "postcard" postal rates were introduced.

The public response to this was enthusiastic. By the early 1900s, postcards had become a universal craze with millions changing hands every day. This "Golden Age" lasted until World War I.

Early postcards of China were published in Europe as well as in East Asia, especially in the Treaty Ports* of China and Japan. A wide variety of images of China travelled around the world where they made a lasting impression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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© 2004