Short history of the postcard
"Due to providing unprotected access to private correspondence there are moral doubts about the introduction of postcards for personal messages. Hence postcards should not be introduced for private correspondence" – these weren’t the exact words used by the Prussian General Post Master Karl Ludwig Richard von Philipsborn in 1865. Still, he opposed the introduction of the postcard, at the time called ‘postsheet’, for personal correspondence for the above-mentioned reasons. Furthermore there probably were economic concerns, too – a drop in revenue was feared because of the lower postage for ‘postsheets’. It took until 1870 to release the usage of postcards, under the name of ‘Correspondence card’, for private purposes in Prussia.
Short history of the postcard
1760
A private postal service in Paris, the Petite Poste (Small post), implemented generally accessible messages.
1861
The United States Congress passed an act, stipulating the mailing of privately printed cards. In the same year John P. Charlton obtained the copyright for the postcard. Since 1873 pre-stamped postcards have been available in the USA.
1865
In Prussia the predecessors of the current postcard appear: On the backside of these ‘printed matter cards’ only the handwritten address of the sender and the recipient were permitted. The frontside contained a printed message.
1870
Otto von Bismarck (Prussian Prime Minister and Chancellor of the North German Union) introduced the ‘Correspondence card’. Thus, the Prussians could send private postcards, too.
Short stories about the postcard
Postcard from Mars
The postcard from Mars is 24 times 1.45 meters and does not at all meet the postal requirements as to size and weight. It sure would be troublesome to post it using a commonplace letterbox. You’ll have guessed that the sender of this XXL-postcard is not actually from Mars. It was designed by the German Aerospace Center in Berlin Adlershof and the Freie University Berlin. The Martian landscape was photographed by the high-performance-stereo camera on board of the European spacecraft ‘Mars Express’, which is orbiting Mars since December 25, 2003.
How the picture got on the postcard
The first postcards did not feature pictures. They looked more like forms than current postcards. In the early 1870’s the lithographer Miesler created picture postcards featuring views of Berlin. Copycats in other cities followed quickly. Those first pictures on postcards were black and white only, and unlike today were placed on the message side, not on the backside. The sender had to find space for the message. The breakthrough for the picture postcard was in the mid-1890’s.
Short stories about the postcard
View of Hamburg Harbor on a GDR picture postcard
There is a GDR-postcard from the year 1950. The stamp shows the portrait of Wilhelm Pieck, the first GDR President. The postcard picture shows a view of the Hamburg harbor, title: Gate of a united democratic Germany to the World. Why was the Hamburg harbor view printer on a GDR postcard? For the purpose of propaganda: At this time the GDR still strived for a united Germany – a communist Germany.
How the picture postcard became mobile
Nowadays, you will find picture postcards at any tourist spot worldwide. Imagine you want to send a postcard from a place where no postcards are available or even from uninhabited places, like the dessert. In this case you would face various problems: Where to get a postcard picturing the view you want to show your loved ones? And how to mail the postcard without a letterbox? Whoever carries a smartphone has the solution at their fingertip: Take a photo, use the app to design your postcard and to mail it. Thus you can send a postcard from any place in the world using your own pictures. Provided you have a network connection …
