Postcard collecting

Vintage Postcard Collecting

Along with tea cards and football stickers, postcard collecting is another collectible many kids have pursued at one point or another in there childhood.

Ask and collector of postcards and they will tell you there are several things you must know beofre becoming a serious collector. Postcards can go for hundreds or even thousands and with one or two misplaced uses can loose value rapidly.

Most postcard collectors will tell you it all started with a holiday postcard from Bournemouth from Aunt Ethel for 3 years running. From there it spread to a collection that now wallpapers the dining room! Before you know it you are visiting an annual conventions, rubbing shoulders with lists dealers and combing every towns shops and fairs.

Vintage Postcard Collecting

Vintage Postcard Collecting

Here are some top postcard collectible tips if you intend to start collecting them whether modern or vintage.

1. Never stick cards down with glue or sellotape, or put them in the photo albums with sticky pages. Invest in a album with pockets to slide cards in and out of, or put cards in individual plastic sleeves and file in a box.

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2. Avoid heavy exposure to light as this causes fading. Older photographic cards, in particular, can be quickly ruined by sunlight, so framing cards to hang on the wall is not a good idea

3. use Internet auction sites lie ebay to locate new items for the collection. It is impossible to adequately assess a postcard without feeling the paper and inspecting the condition. Creases, tears, and soil always detract from the value and should be reflected in the price.

4. Don’t jump in too quickly as you need to know a little before making your early purchases. The more time you spend studying old cards the better you will get at spotting genuine antiques.

5. Only buy cards that have a legible postmark on them. A handwritten date may be genuine, but might not be; a government postal cancellation mark is pretty trustworthy. If a card is postmarked 1910, for example, you can be reasonably sure the card is at least 100 years old.

6. Notice the thickness of the card stock. Modern postcards tend to be thinner and feel glossier than antique cards.

7. Notice the overall condition. Even postcards in excellent condition will show signs of discoloration, fading, grime, and/or handling after 80 or 100 years.

8. Check the design of the postcard. If the paper feels right and the back is undivided, it probably dates before 1907.

9. Read the small print. Seems like obvious advice, but sometimes it’s easy to be fooled: check to see if there is a copyright date or even if the word “Reproduced” appears on the card.

10. As Postcards are made of paper, and all paper is acidic to some degree. This means that your cards will self-destruct over time, no matter what you do. You can significantly delay the inevitable by housing your collection in a controlled environment. Store postcards upright in acid-free boxes or in archival-quality pages or albums. Separate cards from each other with acid-free paper or Mylar sleeves.

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