Some postcards have dates on them, some don't -- so what? Who cares if
a postcard was from the 1920's or 1940's? Does it matter? Who cares?
Postcards have been around a long time now, over 100 years, and there
are several groups of people who do care how old certain cards happen
to be. It isn't a question of economic value ... age has very little to do
with the price of a card ... it has more to do with information.
Postcards are historic documents! We don't often think of them in
that light. Like any other documents or artifacts of the past, there are some
that are more valuable than others -- valuable in terms of the information
they provide. Postcards can have various types of information ... images,
writing, postmarks, stamps, and imprints. Knowing the dates associated with a
postcard can make those bits of information more useful. Note that I said dates
not date. There are several dates associated with each card. Most important of
these are the image date, manufacture date and use date. If there is an
image, whether it is a drawing or a photograph, there is a particular date that the image
was created. There is also a date of manufacture -- the date the card was printed. Then
there is the date the card was purchased, though there is rarely direct evidence for that.
The date the card was used (if it was used), can generally be assumed to be soon after
the date of purchase, though there are exceptions.
I have not seen any literature on the relationship between date of manufacture and
date of use for postcards, though this information can be very valuable. Were most cards
used the year they were first published? Or does usage peak a few years later? What
percentage of cards are used the first, second, third years etc. after printing? If we can
answer these questions, then it should be possible to work backwards, given a large enough
sample of dated cards, and suggest within a year or two the date of publication for
particular cards or series. Luckily, there is one publisher (CurtTeich) for whom we have
an accurate indication of publication date documented, and readily available on the
card itself -- so all we need is a large enough selection of use-dated CurtTeich cards, and
we can answer those questions, at least statistically. (see the Publisher section for
more on this study).
If we think of postcards as historic documents, then it is easy to see why the
associated dates are important. A street scene for example, if the image date is known,
can provide information about the buildings, infrastructure, and businesses in that
part of town. Portraits can show how people dressed and some aspects of their behavior.
Advertising cards can show how companies represented their products and services, which
is a direct reflection of the values and customs of their age. Changes in the styles and
subject matter of drawn illustrations can illustrate the changing tastes and esthetic
judgments of their time. Picture postcards have captured the images of more than a
century of changing material artifacts of civilization. They have recorded the faces and
homes, business and environment from Alaska to Zanzibar.
Nor is it just the historian who can benefit from the information, graphic and otherwise,
found in postcards. Illustrators can get ideas and inspiration from the works of their
predecessors, as well as from photographic images. The genealogist can learn more about
the places their ancestors lived, as well as inscriptions from the most recent of those
ancestors, or even pictures of the ancestors themselves. Authors writing on almost any
subject may find illustrations that complement or enhance their texts.
And that brings us to another very important use for dating information. Copyright.
Trademarks. Privacy Rights. Image Rights. There are a bewildering array of laws and
regulations governing the use of printed material like postcards. There are a wealth of images
of historic, nostalgic or esthetic value, but which can be used freely and which ones require
permission from some interest-holder? When printing illustrations for this guide, can I show
the text people have written? That comes under the rubric of "unpublished writing," and so may
be covered by copyright. Modern photos are also covered by copyright, but original copyright
law did not include images, so it isn't clear just how old an image has to be for its
copyright (if it ever existed) to expire. If a card shows a company name or product covered
by trademark, there may be limitations on how it can be used. Celebrities, and their heirs,
are claiming rights to control the use of their image -- how famous does someone have
to be and how long can descendants claim such rights? I haven't been able to sort out clear
answers to many of these questions, but dates play a significant role for most of them.
I'm just not sure now which dates!
