Postal History (On Postal Cards)

This section was intended to serve as a 'catch-all' for other areas of postal card collecting that I find interesting. There are so many fascinating items one can encounter, that this specialty provides for almost infinite collecting possibilities. Postal Cards are a great source of unique Postal History. I particularly enjoy looking for the modern-era postal history usages of postal cards. Finding certain commercial uses on these cards is tough. I don't know if there's just no popular interest here as yet or if few examples actually exist, but this is a difficult and challenging collecting area!

I especially like to look for proper usages of the Library Postal Cards. These cards were designed for public library business correspondence, and are postal cards of the smallest physical dimensions. Presumably this was to accomodate them in the old (now obsolete) card catalogue files. You can find some surprising uses for these cards beyond the library, too.

Commercial use Precancel Cards are another modern favorite of mine. Although they have been around for some time, their use was 'embraced' by philatelists in the fifties and sixties, and I think this somewhat tarnished their image as legitimate postal history. Indeed, non-philatelic commercial precancel postal card usages are scarce. In 1961 the Post Office Department (POD) attempted an experiment to assess the process savings to be gained thru utilizing a precancelled postal card. The theory was that if the card indicia incorporated precancel bars, then they would not need to be cancelled in a normal fashion like regular mail, hence cost savings for the POD. This is the precancelled liberty issue, a VERY difficult card to find properly used! It was intended for large, mass-mailings by business organizations. The card wasn't designed to be cancelled, so the trick is identifying proper uncancelled usages. For private correspondence, the cards were supposed to be cancelled in a normal fashion. This latter usage is the real toughy!

Another category ripe with postal history is the area of metered postal cards. You typically see these around the time of the postal card rate changes. Occasionally, you come across more unusual uses, such as for collection of postage due on an obsolete-rate card's attempted use. Meters can add considerable postal history interest to otherwise ordinary cards when found in conjunction with unusual auxiliary markings.

Aside from these areas, recent-issue postal cards harbor quite a number of modern day rarities. These items haven't yet realized their true place with the likes of the GE and Full-face McKinley cards, but it's only a matter of time. Indeed, some of the modern rarities may some day actually prove 'rarer' than their famous cousins. One category of modern rare cards has to be any false-franked, presorted discount cards used for mass-mail advertising. These cards are difficult to positively identify because (like much 'junk mail') they often pass thru the mailstream uncancelled. Probably the most recognized examples of these are the Troy-Bilt Advertising Cards.

In the latter part of the twentieth century, rapidly inflating postal rates have created the opportunity for rarities on several single issue postal cards. These cards had an extremely brief period of proper use, ranging from a couple months, to just over 30 days(!!). Aside from FDI's, any cancelled example of these cards is definitely a keeper.

Certainly, the classic issue postal cards offer one of the richest areas of postal history interest. Different people define the 'Classic-Era' differently, but for me it would probably be any postal card issued during the 'penny postcard era' (eg. prior to 1952). This spans about 75 years time and affords a wide variety of collecting opportunities.

Naturally, the majority of 'key' postal card issues fall into this group. My favorites are undoubtedly the emergency paper Jefferson cards issued briefly in late 1916. The common paper varieties of the Jefferson issue are often mis-identified as these rarities because of aging or toning. Once you've seen a real example of this card, you know that if there is any paper resemblance to another card, it would be the 'bluish' paper McKinley issues of 1910. The UX27C and D cards were only issued in full sheets to commercial customers for job pre-printing. Many large, industrial customers ordered their cards this way and for this purpose. This is a good first clue to identifying a proper UX27C. UX27D is actually a recut plate that is very easily identified. Many of the customers for these cards, particularly railroads, tended to keep stocks of preprinted cards on-hand for gradual use over a long time-span. As a result, these issues can be found properly used way into the 20's.

The very earliest of the classical postal card issues can be found with all manner of fancy cancels in a variety of beautiful designs and colors. This group includes the scarce and interesting era of patent cancellations. Postal cards offer a truly a boundless challenge for the dilligent postal history collector.