Early 1900s Colorized Postcard
A large portion of postcard production focused on the holidays and special events as well as for advertizing purposes. What appears to be a Christmas Wreath in the background indicates this postcard was intended for the holiday season. The card was printed in New York by Wolf & Co. but was never addressed or mailed.
For those of us drawn to postcard collecting, a passion/addiction officially known as Deltiology, good things indeed come in small packages. Those outside the postcard world are probably unaware that it is the third largest collecting hobby in the world, next to coin and stamp collecting. Over the last 150 years literally billions of postcards spanning every imaginable subject have been printed and posted from almost every country in the world. The history of postcards literally reflects history itself, often that of warfare. They offered both image and word in a compact form plus the benefit of less expensive postage when compared to a full sized letters, and prior to mass electronic forms of communication, postcards were
the number one form of messaging.
Inextricably bound with the postcards was the postal stamp. The first, known as the Penny Black, was printed by England in 1840 while the first adherable postage stamp produced by the United States appeared in 1847. 1861 was the milestone year for Deltiologists, noted as the year of the invention of the postcard, albeit a plain one without imagery. The design was copyrighted by John P. Charlton of Philadelphia, then ownership transferred to H.L. Lipman, the cards offered for sale until 1873 when the U.S. began printing its own postcards. Privately produced postcards with images first appeared in Austria in 1869 and the die was cast, the phenomena of illustrated postcards skyrocketing in popularity around the world. However, the U.S. government did not allow privately printed postcards until 1898.
One of the first of the new postcards was produced in Hungary in conjunction with the Franco-German war, the card appearing in 1870 with war related imagery playing a large part in the proliferation of postcards particularly in Europe. In the U.S. a major push for postcards came with the printing of cards celebrating the 1893 Columbia Exposition held in Chicago. The first colored postcard was introduced in 1889 while images of the then new Eiffel Tower helped to greatly expand interest in postcards. The first cards showing real photographs began appearing in 1900.
In the U.S. you could not add writing on the address side of the card, so you had to write on the image side, at least up until March 1907, when you could add text on the back of the card. In 1906, postcards benefited from another boost with the appearance of the Eastman Kodak foldable camera, amateur photography booming and the resulting images transferable to postcards. European companies found the U.S. a burgeoning market, accounting for some 75% of their postcard sales. In 1908 the U.S. population was listed at 88,700,000. In that same year, some 678,000,000 postcards were mailed within and from America. The era was called the Golden Age of postcards, the height of its worldwide hobby status, but that changed with WWI as Germany had been the major producer of postcards. Another major factor was the advent and spread of the telephone as a means of rapid communication. The “movies” also contributed to a decline in postcard usage.
However the spark was kept glowing by the introduction of individually hand-tinted colored postcards produced in France and Belgium in the early 1900s and through WWI, many beautifully detailed, although their appearance was short-lived. In the 1930s the first of the linen postcards were produced, continuing to 1939 when chrome printing took over. 1940s WWII wartime shortages depleted production although comic, advertising and some military themes continued. The next big leap began with the introduction of vivid color photographs, of cities and landscapes when combined with the Modern or Photochrome postcards that began proliferating after WWII. They were introduced by the Union Oil Co. and first sold in Western States gas stations, color now supplanting black and white cards. Although more recently electronic cards have had an impact, postcards still remain popular, especially with collectors who have nearly 150 years of postcards to choose from. What follows are a few examples from the author’s collection, in this case with an emphasis on military themes.
French “Fantasy” Postcard – Posted in Paris May 10, 1909
The special colorized card, one of series depicting Napoleon Bonaparte his wife and son. The caption translates to: “The King of Rome and the world is conquered — Sleep little King of Rome but before the reveille of the toy soldiers! Do not wake up before you were human, as the fall of the Eagle is that of the Eaglet.
Postcard mailed on August 6, 1907, from St. Clemens, Michigan
WWI Italian Color Tinted Postcard
During WWI, Italy fought on the side of the Allies against Germany,
switching
roles during WWII.
WWI era Color Postcard- U.S.
Humorous postcards were popular in all countries, including those with
military themes,
even the deadly threat of WWI gas warfare. This card was
posted by an American soldier to his family in 1917.
“Hymn of France” — French Colorized Postcard, 1915
The caption beneath the dramatic illustration of a French colonial soldier in the care of a nurse translates to, “O, France, our mother, never forgets to dry our tears.” France called upon its African colonies to supply soldiers for many of their wars, including both WWI and WWII, tens of thousands killed and wounded.
The Oldest Generals in the German Army” — Early 1900s
Generals Graf (Count) von Zeppelin and Graf Haseler appear in a pre-1908 photograph, taken by Alfred Kuhlewindt of Konigsburg and reprinted as a commercial postcard by the Berlin printer Gustave Wursch. Zeppelin was the famous designer and manufacturer of airships that during WWI were employed unsuccessfully as aerial bombing platforms. Zeppelin died on March 8, 1917, before WWI ended so he didn’t see them “banned” from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles.
Seen with him and thus serving to date the photo is General Dietrich Graf von Hulsen-Haseler, who died in 1908. As of 1889, he was appointed chief of the military cabinet for Kaiser Wilhelm II. Besides his penchant for ornate military uniforms, he was an avid fan of the ballet and would occasionally dance for the Kaiser’s court, apparently in a ballerina costume. He was wearing it when he succumbed to a heart attack at age 56.
Japanese Commercial Postcard — The Great Kantu Earthquake of Sept. 1, 1923
The massive 8.3 magnitude quake devastated Tokyo and the port of Yokohama — firestorms engulfing both cities resulting in some 200,000 deaths. A colorized postcard focuses on smoking rubble and a section of Yokahama’s half-mile long steel and concrete jetty, the Hatoba. With a freighter still afloat, it was one of the few vessels able to offer refuge from the flames that burned continuously for two days until all that could be consumed was consumed. The shell of the red brick building in the background is the remains of the aforementioned Harbour Office and Water Police Station. Repercussions were later attributed to Japan’s war in the Pacific and the U.S. entry into WWII.
Paris — Summer 1937
The Eiffel Tower is framed by the monolithic structures erected by the two competing dictatorships, Stalin’s Soviet Union (right) and Hitler’s Nazi Germany, the world exhibition started two years prior to the outbreak of WWII in Europe. Officially named the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne, the Paris Expo was built in the center of the city on the site of the 1889 World’s Exhibition. With 44 countries participating, the 1937 event covered 259 acres stretching two miles along the River Seine.
“And Now onto the Next Target” — Third Reich Postcard
Postcards were employed as a means of promoting nationalism as well as for propaganda purposes. Here England is demonized and threatened with destruction as toy soldiers stand in the background while the main image is that of a child wielding a sword. It bridges the gap between childhood fantasy and the natural progression toward becoming a soldier.
Sino-Japanese War — Commercial Postcard, Machinegun Motorcycle
During the Second Sino-Japanese War Imperial Marines fire at Chinese defenders from a sandbagged fortification. The machinegun is mounted into what could be an imported Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the motorcycles having been imported to Japan in the early part of the 1900s.
U.S. Colorized Postcard Dated July 23, 1918
The handwritten penciled inscription on the obverse reads:
“To the Wife I Love — From Pvt. H.J.C.” The artist’s name also appears on the card.
NOTE: The postcards seen here will be appearing in the author's forthcoming
book "Mayhem in Miniature: Tales Told by Toy Soldiers."
Paul Garson has written over 2,000 feature articles on a variety of subjects — many using his own photography — in over 70 publications in the U.S. and around the world. He has worked as a teacher, screenwriter, and editor. His most recent book "Album of the Damned: Snapshots from the Third Reich" received much acclaim upon its release. For more information, please visit Paul Garson Productions.
ISSUE:
W I N T E R
2011-2012
ART FEATURE:
An Introduction
to Deltiology
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