Postcards depicting all kinds of scenes reached their peak in popularity at the end of the 19th century. Postcards were a primary means of sending greetings to friends and family, especially on holidays. The golden age of communication, as this era was called, ended in the 1920s.
The Victorians in the late 1880s had transformed the original Celtic holiday of All Souls Eve into a fun and romantic family celebration. This change is reflected in the postcards of the day. Adorable smiling chubby kids sit atop jack-o-lanterns portrayed with cute smiling faces that give them personality and a sense of having human characteristics.
Black cats that in earlier times were associated with witchcraft were depicted on postcards at the turn of the century as sweet and cuddly creatures. They were shown being held up by smiling children. Even the witch was given a new identity as an attractive smiling woman expressing messages of love.
Another popular superstition of the time appears in the romantic Halloween cards that show a young woman looking in a mirror at the stroke of midnight to see the face of her future husband. In other cards, she is depicted in front of a large mirror as she looks into a hand mirror to see the image of her future husband. The light for her to see is provided by a pumpkin.
Featured Illustrators
Grace Drayton, the creator of the chubby big-eyed Campbell’s Kids used a similar depiction of children with big eyes, chubby cheeks, and smiling faces to illustrate Halloween postcards for the Raphael Tuck and Sons printer.
Ellen Clapsaddle was another illustrator for Raphael Tuck and Sons. Her work was also produced by the Wolf Publishing Company, a company she created herself. Clapsaddle was one of the most prolific illustrators, completing approximately 2,000 postcards. Her illustrations of her children are distinct in that they feature colorful and sweet-looking children and youth.
Jason Freixas was a Canadian illustrator who published through Winsch, a New York company that published its cards in Germany. Freixas postcards are rare. However, the characteristic checkered borders that surround the round-faced children make them easy to identify.
create a collection
Select the images that appeal to you; some cards will call your name. For some, that will mean collecting cards with black cats, romantic sayings, or pretty witches. Collections can be built from the collection of the work of one or two illustrators. You may decide to specialize in postcards that are signed by the illustrator or that were printed during a particular time period. Whatever factors you determine will guide your collection, you don’t need to limit your collection in case you find a card that doesn’t meet any of your criteria but speaks to you nonetheless.
It is generally recommended to buy the card in better condition within your budget. Avoid cards with loose markings, missing or bent corners, creases, discoloration, liquid spill damage.
dating postcards
1898-1901- The postcards published during these years have the inscription “Tarjeta de Correo Privado”. The inscription makes cards from this era extremely easy to identify.
1901-1907: Cards from this era have undivided backs, allowing the sender to provide the address of the intended recipient. The message to the recipient had to be written on the image side of the card. The inscription “Postcard” is also seen on the back of cards from this era.
1907-1915: March 1, 2017 marks the official beginning of the split-postcard era. This allowed the address and message to be placed on the back, leaving the image free of writing. Also, the image takes up the entire front of the card; there are no borders for the postcards of this time.
Prices
Cards produced by American companies like Tuck were selling their cards for a penny. Winsch-produced postcards sold two for five cents. The higher cost was due to a tariff imposed on cards imported from Germany.
In today’s market, postcards in good condition can cost anywhere from $1.00 USD to over $550.00 USD.
Halloween has become a fun holiday celebrated throughout the United States.
The Halloween Postcard Collection provides a view of the images used to communicate with family and friends on this holiday. Postcards are widely available at auctions, flea markets, and the Internet. Old card reproductions are also widely available. Learning to tell the difference between authentic vintage cards and authentic reproductions is important, if only to avoid a costly mistake.