A History of the Postcard
The use of postcards has evolved gradually over time. Although they were originally invented in France in the 1700s, it wasn't until the 1800s and the introduction of the Penny Black stamp in the UK in 1840 that their popularity increased. Postcards would have have been sent in an envelope at this time and the Penny Black provided a standardised price of one penny per envelope, which was to be prepaid by the sender. This was followed in 1861 by US Congress passing an act that allowed privately printed cards, weighing one ounce or less, to be sent by mail.
However it wasn't until 1869 that the postcard as we know it today was created. The Austrian Post adopted recommendations to provide a cheaper and more efficient means of communication and the Correspondenz-Karte, a rectangular card with space for an address on the front and space for a short message on the reverse was created. One aspect of importance was that the price of sending a postcard was to be half the price of sending a normal letter.
By the late 1800s, postcards often featured an illustrated scenic view. Merchants recognised the opportunity to produce advertising cards too and in 1889 French illustrated postcards were published to celebrate the Universal Exhibition. Some of these included engravings of the Eiffel Tower by artist Libonis who sold thousands of copies in just 20 days. In the 1890s photography started being used in postcards, with the subjects often being urban street scenes and general views. At this time, the message was still to be written alongside the image with the address alone being reserved for the other side of the card.
A short time later, Kodak launched the model 3A, a folding pocket camera with negatives that were the same size as postcards (3.25x5.25 inches) so they could be printed directly onto postcard sized card stock, making the production a much simpler process. As an aside, the size of these negatives was huge compared to the size of digital camera sensors or the popular camera film sizes digital photography has replaced.
From 1902 the postcard message could be written on the same side as the address, leaving the whole of the reverse side for the image. Britain was one of the first countries to adopt this and we begin to see the postcard with a divided space for the message and the address on the same side. Other countries soon followed with the same idea.
Postcards probably reached their peak in the early 1900s with Edwardians sending millions each year. Compulsory education gave access to reading and writing at a time when tourism was becoming more popular. This encouraged the growth of the postcard market with scenic landscapes, portraits, royal visits and current events proving popular. During the first world war, it is estimated that over six billion postcards were sent between soldiers and their relatives.
Today, postcards are still popular as souvenirs, collector's items and a great way to easily send a message to someone. The Postcrossing website is a popular way of receiving postcards from around the world. Users register for free and it enables anyone to exchange postcards with random people around the world. For every postcard you send, you'll receive one back from a random member of the worldwide Postcrossing community and the more you send, the more you receive. At the time of writing, over 78 million postcards have been exchanged through Postcrossing with hundreds being sent and received every hour.
I wanted to celebrate Kendal with my own range of postcards and so I now offer A5 sized postcards of Kendal. These feature my own photographs rather than the generic photos you get on the commercially produced postcards. I tried lots of different card stock, eventually choosing to have them printed on a matt finish, heavyweight card. They are available to buy individually from the Kendal studio or in a pack of 5 postcards from my online shop. Buy online and you even get free postage!
Are there any areas of Kendal or the surrounding area that you would like to see featured on a postcard? Let me know in the comments.
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