WELCOME TO REMEMBER WHEN VINTAGE POSTCARDS
...your only destination for the excitement that is antique and vintage postcards!!
Remember When Vintage Postcards is where you discover the many vintage and antique postcards that will captivate you with their history and charm. From cute animals and darling children on Christmas and other holiday postcards, to trips thru history via my store's state views (including lighthouses), you won't be disappointed. You can be assured my store's postcards are not only captivating, but genuine (not reproductions) and described honestly.
Hi, my name is Pam. I have been a postcard dealer for over 7 years and enjoy helping my customers find postcard treasures for their collections. If you do not find the postcard(s) you are searching for in my store, please contact me. I may have them in my unlisted stock or listed in my other web store. If I do not, I will keep an eye out for your topical interest. Below you will find useful postcard reference information, including a link to a reference guide on Postcard Preservation and Storage written by me, a postcard condition grading guide I use when listing postcards, and a small gallery of postcards from my personal collection.
Enjoy your visit to my postcard store! And remember to visit my other web store, Remember When Vintage Postcards, for additional captivating postcards for your collection. If I can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact me.
Pam (soda_santa)
REFERENCE INFORMATIONGlossary of Postcard Terms
Airbrush: The application of a fine mist of ink via a small, precise air sprayer using high pressure. It was used to add color to non-printed, highly embossed postcards as any ink printed on the surface prior to embossing would crack. This method doesn't produce fine detail though. Airbrushing's benefit over the watercolor method was that it caused little damage.
Album Marks: Soiling, discoloration (fading), and/or pressure marks (indentations) to the corners of postcards. Acid leaching out of the antique album pages, or being held tightly to the album pages for too long causes these marks.
Art Deco: A decorative art and architectural style of the period 1925-1940 (revival in 1960s) with an air of affluence and luxury. It is characterized by bold colors, and symmetrical designs such as zigzags, rounded corners, stripes, and simple sweeping curves. The term was never used while the style was in fashion.
Artist Signed: Any postcard that has a printed signature or initials of the artist. This does not mean the artist autographed the postcard. The original artwork was signed, so the signature was reproduced along with the picture. The signature allows a collector to seek out the cards drawn by a specific artist.
D.P.O. (or Discontinued Post Office): When a post office ceases to be a public necessity, or it's difficult to find a suitable postmaster, the office is discontinued. The number of post offices peaked in 1901 at 76,945. That number sharply declined in the ensuing decade, due to the spread of rural free delivery. At the end of the fiscal year 2005, there were 27,385 independent post offices. A list of discontinued post offices, by date, can be found via the USPS' Postmaster Finder.
Deltiology: The collection and study of postcards. The person doing the research is a deltiologist. Randall Rhodes of Ashland, OH first used the term in the 1940's.
Divided Back: A postcard back with a centerline to divide the address from the message. Divided backs appeared in 1902 in England, 1904 in France, 1905 in Germany, and 1907 in the US. A divided back helps date unused postcards.
Embossed: A raised, textured design or pattern pressed into postcards by passing them between engraved metal rolls during manufacture.
Ephemera: Transitory written and printed matter not originally intended to be retained or preserved after it's indended use.
Foxing: A condition issue affecting ephemera consisting of brown spotting penetrating the paper's surface. It is caused by exposure to excessive humidity, extreme temperatures, and/or the aging of inks originally used in processing. These spots cannot be removed by erasing, but may occasionally be removed by bleaching.
Gilding: Art or process of applying a thin layer of simulated gold (in the case of postcards) to a surface. It's used to give postcards a superficially attractive appearance. This process creates an impression seen as a raised surface on the back and is not considered embossing. PFB was one publisher that used this process. They produced two versions of most of their postcards; one with and one without gilding (each with their ow series number). Gilding tends to increase a postcard's value.
Golliwog: A rag doll-like children's literacy character created by Florence Upton in the late 19th century. The golliwog has jet black skin, round/white eyes, and big red lips with wild, woolly hair. It is sometimes described as the blackest of gnomes. This literary character was inspired by a black face minstrel doll Florence had as a child.
Krampus: A goat-faced demon in male form who accompanies St. Nick on his December gift-giving tours. St. Nicholas gave good children presents and Krampus gave bad children warnings and punishment. Tradition has young men dressing up as Krampus the first two weeks of December, particularly December 5th.
Oilette: A term used by Raphael Tuck and Sons which referred to their postcard series that reproduced scenes copied from paintings rather than photographs. The later Oilettes had an embossed textured surface which simulated the brush strokes of paintings and are sometimes referred to as "Oilfasism".
Phostint: A trade name established in 1903 for the Swiss photochrom process used by the Detroit Publishing Company. The process gave their postcards a unique appearence, with sharp to soft looks. It was based on creating a continuous toned lithographic image through the use of photo sensitive asphaltum. Many colors were used requiring many litho-stones to create a single image. The precise details were kept such a close trade secret, that the process' techniques Detroit Publishing Company developed died when they went out of business.
Postcard: A rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for sending messages without an envelope and at a lower postal rate than a letter. Examples of postcards made of copper, cork, leather, wood, and other materials exist.
Sepia: A colourant prepared from the secretians of the cuttlefish and added to the ink to turn the postcard a dark, red-brownish color. Sepia-tone postcards were published in the 1930s and 1940s to emulate early photographs.
Switch: A slender, flexible rod, stick, or group of twigs used to whip (a child). It is most often seen on postcards either held by Santa, or attached to his belt.
Topics: Postcards that are not location oriented, but of subjects such as children in footed pjamas, sundials, cats, golf, etc.
View: Postcards that depict any type of view, either landscape or buildings. They are usually sorted by geographic location.
Postcard Condition and Grading
A clearly defined grading system is needed, especially on the Internet, so no misunderstandings between traders occur. I use the following as a guide when grading the postcards I list:
MINT (M): A perfect card, just like it was when first printed. No creases or bends, writing (front or back), postmark, nor marks of any kind. It is a clean card that’s seldom seen.
EXCELLENT (E): Similar to mint in appearance, with only minor corner bumps (wear). No bends or creases. May either be postmarked/stamped, or unused. May have writing on address side only. It is a clean, fresh card on the image side.
VERY GOOD (VG): Corners may be slightly bumped (worn) or rounded. May have an almost undetectable (very light, very small, and/or very short) crease or bend that doesn’t detract from the overall appearance of the image side. No soiling, or tears. May have writing, or show postal use on address side only.
GOOD (G): Corners are more bumped/rounded than very good, with noticeable bends and/or creases. May have a small amount of light soiling (this includes stains and foxing) that doesn’t detract from the overall appearance of the image side. May have a little bit of writing in small letters at edges on front side, that doesn’t detract from main image (many times, however, writing on front will detract from main image). May have a small tear, no larger than 3/8 inch.
FAIR (F): Card is intact (no corner chips). Excess (significant) soil, stains, creases, writing, or postmark may affect picture. It could be a scarce card that is difficult to find in any condition.
POOR (P): Incomplete card (note, minor/very small edge shave could be considered a card in fair condition). Image seriously affected. A filler card only (until a better card comes along)!
I recognize that everyone will have his or her own opinion as to what each condition grade should be defined as. The above is only a guide and not meant to be definitive.
Please click on the following link for information on Postcard Preservation and Storage. It is an eBay guide written by me.
**Additional postcard reference information can be found on the reference info page of my other web store.
Besides selling postcards, I personally collect them as well. My topical interests are Santa Claus (my all-time favorite image), Christmas children in footed pajamas, cupids, lady postcards signed by May Farini (mostly color issues), and my newest topical interest- baby bottles. I'd like to share a portion of my postcard collection with you. Please enjoy them as I have.
 If you would like to view more of my collection, please visit the gallery page of my other web store.
PAYMENT POLICYI accept bank transfers, e-checks (must clear prior to shipment), and major credit cards via PayPal. PayPal is a safe, secure, online payment method using advanced encryption to protect your private information (look for the lock symbol). You do not need a PayPal account to use this payment method.
Payment is much appreciated within 14 days. Once I have received payment, I will send an e-mail letting you know this. Note, I will follow eBay's unpaid item dispute process should payment not be received within 14 days. SHIPPING INFORMATIONI ship worldwide! All orders are shipped within 2-3 days of receiving payment. They come packed in a protective soft sleeve and secured to stiff cardboard to ensure safe delivery. If you have a special request regarding the handling of your order, please contact me. I will also notify you once I have shipped your order. USPS First Class Mail Shipping/Handling Prices:
(my rates have changed in order to match the shopping cart coding limitations in my web store)
No. of U.S. International
Postcards
1-3 $1.39 $2.48
4-9 $1.80 $3.34
10-15 $2.31 $4.34
16-21 $2.48 $5.14
22+ $2.65 $5.94
Priority Shipping on US orders is a flat $5.70, regardless of the number of postcards bought. Priority shipping on international orders is via Priority First Class Mail Flat-Rate Envelope at a rate of $14.25 regardless of the number of postcards bought. Express shipping is not offered. A handling fee is included in the above prices and covers the USPS non-machineable charge for stiff packaging (I have no choice regarding this USPS charge), shipping supplies (i.e. tape, envelope, etc.), and prorated costs associated with operating my vehicle to and from the post office. INSURANCE on US OrdersInsurance for US orders totaling $.01 to $50.00 is $1.75 and on orders $50.01 to $100.00 is $2.25. Insurance on US orders over $100.00 is FREE. **Insurance is available on US orders only as the post office does not offer insurance on international shipments for the shipping methods I offer. Most of my packaged orders do not qualify for delivery confirmation as they are under 3/4" thick. The US Post Office has no way of tracing them if lost or misdirected during transit, unless insured. Insurance is therefore encouraged as I am not responsible for uninsured orders once I drop them off at the US Post Office. RETURN POLICYAll my postcards are genuine and vintage, not reproductions. They are described as accurately as possible. I strive for 100% satisfaction on all customer purchases. If unsatisfied with your purchase, you may return it (in same condition as sent) within 3 days for refund of item cost only; not shipping and handling.
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