Picture postcards from the end of the18th century until today
News News blog
Origin of the picture postcards
The first possible manufacturer is the engraver Demaison from France, who according to "L'Almanach de la Petite Poste de Paris" is said to have printed cards, possibly even with pictures, as early as 1777.
No copies of these cards exist today, nor of the Almanac, which is, however, quoted in other sources with the information that there are "at present certain engravings of cards carried by the post with openly readable messages. The new invention stems from the engraver Demaison, and there is much talk about it."
As far as we know today, the first full-page illustrated German postcard sent without an envelope dates from 1866. It contains an invitation to a driven hunt and was made by the lithographer Wilhelm Schneider from Worms.
Postcards without illustrations
Originally, postcards were only intended for purely written correspondence without illustrations; at that time they were still called correspondence cards. The Oldenburg printer and bookseller August Schwartz printed a card with a woodcut vignette and sent it by post to Magdeburg as early as 16 July 1870, i.e. 15 days after the official introduction of the correspondence card in the North German postal area.
From 1871 onwards, the Post Office sold postcards and greeting cards. From 1 July 1872, private motif postcards not produced by the Post Office were also permitted in Germany.
The breakthrough of picture postcards
It took until 1896 for picture postcards to make their breakthrough in Germany, and it was not until a few years later that they became really popular outside the German-speaking countries. One reason for the increasing popularity of the cards was the use of chromolithography, which made it possible to print colourful cards instead of just black and white. Another reason was the gradual growth of tourism.
Picture postcards today
Today, picture postcards are often sent to acquaintances and relatives while travelling or on excursions. It is still considered a friendly and polite act of attention to write postcards from the road or on special occasions.
However, with the development and increasing spread of modern means of communication such as e-mail or social networks, the postcard is visibly losing importance, but is still present in everyday life.
Collecting and researching postcards and picture postcards is called philocarting.
