A copyright on a
private postal card was issued to John P. Charlton of Philadelphia as early as
1861, later transferred to his fellow townsman, H.L. Lipman.
These early cards,
decorated with a slight border pattern and labeled "Lipman's
postal card, patent applied for", were for sale until 1873 when the first
government postcards appeared. Plain
postcards were in use well before that. They were issued by the post offices of
various countries with the country's stamp imprinted on them. They are referred to as "Postals". The
first appearance of a non-postal "postcard" that was privately
produced to which postage must be affixed, is
accredited to occurring in Austria in 1869. By 1870 picture postcards were being published
in limited quantities throughout Europe. Until recently, it was thought that U.S.
postcard use lagged farther behind that of European usage.
NOTE: Writings
were not permitted by law on the address side of any postcard until March 1,
1907. For this reason many postcards
up to 1907 have messages across their fronts. Writing on the front of early postcards is
not a fault.
This web site
is owned and maintained by James M. Luty. Please email any questions or comments to Jim@WaynesboroPaPostcards.com.