On May 19, 1898, by an act of Congress, private printers
were granted permission to print and sell cards that bore the inscription
"Private Mailing Card". We
call these cards "PMC's". Many
early Pioneer postcards were reprinted as PMC's. Postcards of this era have
undivided backs. During this period
around 1900, Real Photo postcards (RPs, postcards on film stock: i.e. pictures)
began to filter in use. These early
real photo images were mainly advertising pieces.
Note: In 1898 postage required for mailing a postcard was
reduced from 2 cents to 1 cent.
This web site
is owned and maintained by James M. Luty. Please email any questions or comments to Jim@WaynesboroPaPostcards.com.