Postcard collecting must be one of the most rewarding hobbies out there. Available to all ages and budgets, this fascinating insight into a World of postcards has followers all around the World, and for good reason. Postcard collecting is one of those hobbies whereby you can get hooked very easily, something that can lead to an obsession for some.
My own personal postcard journey started back in 1981. I was an engineer working in a factory at the time and we was on strike due to some industrial dispute. With time on my hands I visited a local outdoor market and noticed a bric-a-brac stall selling just about everything. In a small box I saw around 10-postcards and picked them up. Curiosity got the better of me. They were just studio portraits of Edwardian men and women in their Sunday best posing for the camera. I snapped them all up for a few pence.
These postcards would be sent to family members, who in turn would send their postcards. It was common for every household to have a postcard album so the Edwardians were pioneers of the postcard collecting World. A normal family would accumulate hundreds of postcards and they were treasured in an embossed album to keep them safe.
The Edwardian period was the golden age of postcard collecting and things started to slow down after the 1914-1918 War was over. Postage doubled to help pay for the war effort and thus postcards were on the decline. The old albums were put away and largely forgotten and some of the local photographers went out of business. The bigger companies survived and still produced in large numbers. Some using the local photographers to do the work for them on a commission basis.
After the 1930’s recession and the 1939-1945 war things continues on a downward spiral. In the 1950’s people started buying and posting again. These retro postcards from the 1950’s and 1960’s which were generally ignored by postcard dealers are now becoming very collectable in their own right.
There was a never ending supply of postcard fairs to attend back in the day but slowly they diminished. The age of the dealer and the Internet could not be ignored and now they have declined to just a handful of fairs. This is a shame because there was noting like meeting fellow collectors and dealers in person and talking postcards. You can look and feel the postcard you want to buy, a luxury you cannot find when buying online.
But postcard collecting is still here, it evolves like every other hobby and the future looks secure. The good old days of collecting are never going to come back but the postcard collectors have to now get their fix and excitement from online bidding. But as long as their collections grow they are happy postcard collectors.
If you’re considering collecting old postcards then just follow your heart and collect something that you have a passion for. Forget about investment and making money long-term. Just get the satisfaction from building a collection from nothing and you will find it will bring you so much joy. If they accumulate in value over time that’s fine, an unexpected bonus. Postcard collecting is all about taking part in a wonderful hobby that can be so rewarding, maybe not financially but as a pastime you can be proud of.
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