A postcard is a card designed to be sent through the post without an envelope, usually with a picture on one side and space for an address and message on the other. Collecting postcards, known as deltiology, is one of the most popular branches of paper ephemera.
Postcards were introduced in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the picture postcard became enormously popular in Britain in the Edwardian period, when millions were posted each year and collecting them in albums was a national craze. Subjects include topographical views of towns and villages, seaside resorts, railways, ships, comic cards, royal events, wartime greetings and advertising. Real photographic postcards of local streets and events are particularly valued by local historians. Printing methods include chromolithography, collotype and photographic processes, and publishers such as Raphael Tuck and Sons are well known. Value depends on subject, rarity, condition and sometimes the postmark or stamp, with sharp corners and clean surfaces most desirable. Postcards are an affordable entry into collecting and an important source of historical information about buildings, interiors and everyday life, often helping to document the original appearance of a house or village.
