CardCow Vintage Postcard Blog

Need the perfect last minute gift? Framed Postcard Prints!

2011-12-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Too late to get something shipped overnight? No problem, you can still put together a great gift. We offer hi-res scans of most older cards - you can download the digital images and have them printed at most drugstores on photo-quality paper.

Crop to common photo size (3x5, 4x6, 5x7, etc) and you can easily mount them in a photo frame with pre-cut matte. I like using clear corners when mounting original cards, but you can probably use art tape on the back without causing too much permanent damage.

See our Postcard Displays and Gift Ideas sections for some ideas.

Greetings from 1967

2011-08-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

I usually don't pay too much attention to the messages on the backs of postcards - but every once in a while one jumps out. This fun card from 1967 mentions the debut of The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye" on Ed Sullivan November 26, 1967.

The sender also mentions Lord of the Rings and E. R. Eddison and college life in 1967.

Vintage Armory Postcards in Design New England Magazine

2011-06-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

The June issue of Design New England magazine featured several antique armory postcards from CardCow.

RPI Postcards

2011-04-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

I was up at RPI a few weeks ago - the archives had a few cards that I hadn't seen before. I was able to scan them and add them to my site: http://www.rpiviews.com/

They also had a nice display in the Union featuring a few old postcards:

And a few prints and trade cards in the Library on display:

Montana Money Clip

2011-04-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

Went to the Phoenix Grill last week - the decor was more interesting than the food.

They had this front & back postcard framed, apparently from a patron or employee. If you can't make it out, there's a quarter clipped to a guy's hat with a clothespin and the caption reads "Montana Money Clip".

They had a lot of old-timey stuff decorating the walls. The other piece that caught my eye was this first day cover from 1944 commemorating the "Golden Spike". I found it curious that the dealer had written the price

"10-" on the front. I guess it doesn't hurt the value too much...

Anyway, food was ok - just kind of bland.

Boxborough Paper Show

2011-01-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

Going to my first east-coast paper show in 6 years Sunday - we'll see how it compares to California.

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Harvard General Store

2010-12-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Relocated from California to Massachusetts last month. Took the dogs to the vet and they had this nice framed reprint from a postcard of the Harvard General Store in the waiting room:

I only have a few views from the Town of Harvard, but will have to keep an eye open for my personal collection.

Framed Dachshund Postcard Set

2010-08-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Spotted this nice Huld Dachshund Installment Set of Postcards at the San Francisco show last week:

I love the way sets of cards (and even individual cards) looked framed. This is a perfect way to display an installment set of cards.

New Site Design Launched

2010-07-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

The new user interface is live! Nothing functionality-wise should have changed, just a new look. What do you think?

Still a few things I'm working on, but let me know if anything is broken or doesn't look right.

Site Redesign

2010-05-22T19:47:00.001-07:00

It's time for a site revamp. If you're a designer, or know of one, consider submitting a design here:
http://99designs.com/web-design/contests/fun-project-major-vintage-postcards-collectibles-site-44975

Father's Day Postcards

2010-05-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Some of my "Everybody Works But Father" postcards were featured on television spot done by KSPS in Spokane, WA this week.

I had no idea where that phrase came from, but watch the video to learn more!

Lamesa TX - The Westerner Motel, Then & Now

2010-05-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

b Schafer sent me a photo he took of the Westerner Motel while passing through Lamesa TX. It's interesting to see that the original buildings have changed very little in 50+ years.

I've been thinking about adding a "Then and Now" now section to CardCow.com where people could submit current images of places that I have postcards of. Do email me if you have a modern photo of one of our vintage views and I'll post it here!

CardCow on MarketWatch

2010-05-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Slightly misquoted, but that's ok:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/auctions-move-to-the-back-burner-at-ebay-2010-05-06

I used to auction quite a few items on Ebay, but it's not not worth it anymore. Fees keep going up, and their feedback system is ridiculous. Now with most sellers just listing store items auctions have taken a backseat. There are currently 1,650,475 postcards listed on Ebay. Only 88,148 are listed as auctions. If you're a seller on ebay, you just don't get the same visibility with auctions anymore.

LA's Brown Derby Restaurant in Architectural Digest

2010-04-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

I sent a postcard to a writer in France last month and they ended up using it in an article about "roadside" architecture:

As Architecture Digest has illustrated, postcards are a great way to study 20th Century architecture - especially commercial buildings. Here are some more views of the Brown Derby Restaurant.

Halloween Postcards on Antiques Roadshow

2010-04-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Watched the roadshow last night as usual, and I think this was the first show I've ever seen them feature a postcard collection. Typically Antiques Roadshow chooses not to focus on collectibles, but postcards of course overlap many different areas. Especially true for Halloween postcards.

If you liked what you saw, be sure to check out our Halloween collection - we have many of the cards shown:

Share Vintage Postcards on Facebook

2010-04-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

Now any postcard on cardcow.com can easily shared on facebook. Just click the facebook share icon on the product page:

Save the Date with Vintage Postcards

2010-01-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

I seem to get a lot of requests this time of year from wedding planners. Old postcards make great "Save the Date" cards for weddings. For smaller wedding you might be able to get away with sending original cards, but a more economical approach is to reproduce the cards or incorporate the images into a new design.

Here's the end result of easy wedding invitation project.

I offer high-resolution scans of most cards for a nominal fee, which can easily be incorporated into Save the Date cards, or any type of graphic design project.

There are tons of print shops that will do low-volume postcard printing - VistaPrint, printsmadeeasy.com and postcards.com are a few - but not all do matte finish, which is usually better for that "vintage look". Some printers can do different paper stock which can emulate the original linen cards.

Greetings from Niagara Falls

2010-01-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

The New York Times has a nice piece today on artist Zoe Leonard's exhibit "You see I am here after all" featuring 4,000 postcards from the famous waterfall. I sold some Niagara cards to Zoe back in 2008, so I'm happy to see they went to good use. If only someone would do some installment art featuring Washington DC postcards - I have a few I could part with...

New Site Search Features: Narrow Your Search

2009-11-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

I've spent some time over the past month improving the search functionality on cardcow.com. With over 250,000 cards now in our inventory just plain keyword-based search is often not enough to easily find specific cards.

There are now two new options available:

Sorting of Results
This allows sorting by best match (relevancy), and also by price or by listing date. This allows users to fine newly listed cards, or more expensive/less expensive cards quickly.
Search Refinements
Once you've entered your keywords to search on, you now have the option to narrow your search by category, state, size of the card, orientation, type/era, and price range

Here's an example:

http://www.cardcow.com/search3.php?section=all&substring=greetings+from+california

Now say you just want Linen cards, just click on the "Linen" refinement:

http://www.cardcow.com/search3.php?substring=greetings+from+california&section=all&typeid[]=Linen

And then maybe we want to find cheaper cards, so click on the "Under $5" refinement:

http://www.cardcow.com/search3.php?substring=greetings+from+california&typeid[]=Linen&section=all&price_search_1=0.00&price_search_2=4.99

And of course you can save these searches on the site for automatic notification, or bookmark them to easily see when new cards are available for your particular searches.

Geek of The Week

2009-08-17T01:19:00.001-07:00

This falls more on the technical side, but I was featured as "Geek of the Week" at ServerBeach last week - they provide server hosting for cardcow.com.

In other news, the Sacramento Postcard show is this weekend - August 22 & 23.

It's a decent show, although the location doesn't get many walk-in traffic, and attendance both by dealers & patrons has gone down in the past few years. Still, it's worth checking out if you're in the area - there are several local dealers that *only* do this show. Location:

Scottish Rite Masonic Temple

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"IOU" Postcard

2009-08-10T12:24:00.001-07:00

I thought this postcard was interesting - written on the back is a credit for tickets to the dinner theater the card is from.

Investing In Postcards

2009-07-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

There are lots of people looking for alternative investments these days. There's a fine line between investing and collecting sometimes, but at least if you buy something you love you get some enjoyment out of it - even if it doesn't appreciate in value much. Richard Morrison of Canada's Financial Post recently called and asked about "Investing in Postcards". The article mentions a few specific cards & topics that always are in high demand, and seems to draw the conclusion that postcards are best left for collectors, not serious investors.

I don't think postcards are that much different than other inves-tibles like Art, Guitars, Classic Cars, and other similar items. They are a bit different than coins & stamps though - since coins and (unused) stamps will always have at least face-value. Like other collectibles you need to know what you're doing if you are buying strictly as an investment - but is this really that different than stocks, bonds and commodities? Collectibles follow the same kinds of ups & downs as other markets, and there are similar risks - but at least postcards can provide some enjoyment as well as asthetic and historical value.

San Francisco Postcard Show This Weekend

2009-05-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend, May 23 & 24 2009 is Hal Lutsky's spring postcard show in San Francisco.
It's not the largest venue, but it does get a lot of traffic. Due to the location in Golden Gate Park a lot of passersby stop in.

My friend Arlen has a few tables at the show - selling 25 cent cards. Don't be fooled though, there can be some gems found for those willing to look through his 100+ boxes of cards - especially those looking for foreign cards. Here's a picture from the January show:
With free admission, and 1 Million Postcards from 50 or so dealers to browse, the SF show is a great way to spend an afternoon.

400 Antique Pig Postcards

2009-05-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

You won't catch Swine Flu from these cards!

400 Pig Postcards added this month

Postcard Alerts

2009-05-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Now you can create your own postcard wantlists!
We Just added a new feature on cardcow.com which allows you to save your favorite searches, and we will email you when new cards are found.

Simply login in to your account, or create a new one:
http://www.cardcow.com/account/

Then do a search for anything that might interest you:
http://www.cardcow.com/search2.php?section=all&substring=chrome+diners+nj for example.

Then click the "Save This Search" button at the top of the page.

You will then receive an email any time new cards are found that match that exact search.

National Postcard Week Sale!

2009-05-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

This week is our annual NPCW sale - get 20% off all orders over $25 through May 10th at http://www.cardcow.com/

Over 10,000 new cards added in the past couple months including several hundred nice Real Photo Postcards, and some Topical Postcards featuring Black Americana & Native American cards - as well as thousands of great US Views.

Visiting Ebay

2009-04-15T23:11:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to visit Ebay in San Jose yesterday. There are definitely more vintage postcards on their web site than at their corporate office. Lots of other collectibles adorning employee's offices though!

Old Postcards at the Magic Kingdom

2009-03-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

I was at Disney World again last week, and hidden in one of the old stores on Main St. Kodak has an exhibit of photography, featuring a lot of postcards and travel emphemera.

First we have a Kodak folding brownie camera. Note the NY City Central Park Postcard (not a real photo, so I'm not sure why they have that behind the camera).

Next we have another Brownie camera, and a few miscelaneous postcards.

Postcards as part of a 1933 Chicago World's Fair Display:

And finally we have a nice 1940's/50's roadside display:

Google Eyes

2009-02-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

And you thought Google wasn't around in 1915...

Bob Hope Airport

2009-01-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

I was down in Burbank and was happy to see some ephemera and other items displayed in the lobby. Only a couple of postcards, but some nice airmail cancels and such.

The terminal hasn't changed much in the past 50 years - this postcard is from the late 1950's or early 60's when it was called the "Lockheed Air Terminal":

New Additions for January

2009-01-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

Lots of US Views added over the past month or so:

700 Pre-1920 US Cards

Another 700 Older Cards - US & Canada

700 More Pre-1920 US Postcards

700 Pre-1908 US Cards

700 Old Massachusetts Postcards

700 US Chrome

700 More US Chrome

Many more great cards being listed this month - including topics & artist signed

The Bantam Anti-Friction Co.

2009-01-14T13:00:00.001-08:00

I just thought this company's name was funny. Perfect for all of your frictionless surface needs. Seems like the kind of place Wile E Coyote would purchase some devices. Or the Acme Anti-Mass Co.

I assume they made ball bearings...

Old Key West Postcards at Disney World

2008-11-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

At Disney World in Orlando last week I had lunch at the Old Key West resort one day, and what do you know - the walls were plastered with framed old postcards from Key West:

And my favorite, this tri-fold panoramic postcard:

The Territory Ahead

2008-10-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Territory Ahead used several of my cards in their fall catalog. Order a free copy and check out the postcards and the clothes.

Postcards at the California State Railroad Museum

2008-10-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

I took my brother to the railroad museum in Sacramento last weekend. I've been there before - it's one of the best museums I've ever been to. They have some amazing displays and exhibits that rival the Smithsonian and the Henry Ford. They have a number of old cars you can walk through, and one of them is a mail car which probably transported millions of postcards across the country. They had few old postcards on display which didn't really have much to do with the railroad - displaying some RPO (Railway Post Office) cancels would have been better. I have a number of RPO cancels on postcards and I can't help wondering if any traveled on this car...

Postcards from Alcatraz

2008-10-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

Went to Alcatraz last weekend. The postcard display in the gift shop was the best part!
There were only about 20 different views, but they reprinted them and stuck them on posterboard in this large display. I wonder if any prisoners actually sent any of these older cards from "the rock"....

See more postcards from alcatraz here.

New York Stock Exchange

2008-09-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Wall Street certainly hasn't changed much in the past 100 years. Nostalgic for the good old days of the stock market crash of 1929? Well here are some views:

Don't Ride the Lego R2-D2

2008-09-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

Not postcard related, but I had to post this image from the toy store in Ginza. Found a lot of bad translations last week, but this was the funniest.

"When you lean on a display and ride a load, please very stop it because it is danger."

Postcards (Hagaki) in Tokyo

2008-09-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

Spent last week in Tokyo. I wanted to go to Jimbocho where I heard there are a lot of old book stores and antique shops, but I didn't have a chance to go to that area. There was just too much other stuff to see, and unfortunately this wasn't a postcard buying trip. I did find a few tourist shops selling modern postcards though:

Most of the modern cards I found were selling for around 80 Yen - around 75 cents. Lots of nice wood block prints, printed on nice paper. Much nicer than typical glossy, scenic cards found in the US (although there were plenty of views of Tokyo to be found as well).

New Additions

2008-08-09T23:17:00.000-07:00

Lots of new stuff added this week:

Over 2000 Misc US Chromes

1400 Misc US Divided Back

700 Misc US White Border

700 Misc US Linen

700 Massachusetts Chrome

700 New Linen Cards Listed

2008-07-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

I listed 700 great linen postcards this week. Many views, and a few interesting advertising cards - like this Wallpaper Delivery Van. Both the front and back of this rare card are great!

Linen advertising cards like this one are always in demand. Partly because they are so rare, but also because of the great imagery and cross-domain appeal.

The Dentist

2008-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

I found myself in Baltimore not too long ago. I wouldn't recommend it. I went to the National Museum Dentistry. Really.

It wasn't too bad actually, and you don't have to fight your way through the crowds of schoolchildren like you do at the Smithsonian. I did like this postcard of the monkey dentist and the hippopatamus. Mounting with clear corner tabs like this behind a nice matte is a good way to go if you don't want to use any adhesives.

I don't think I've seen any other cards from this (French?) series. If you happen to know more about this artist or series please let me know.

Valuable Postcards

2008-07-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

I keep a close eye on postcard prices. I thought it would be useful to do a monthly post on the most expensive postcard sales, so I decided to post those in a new blog:

http://valuablepostcards.blogspot.com/

I'll try to update it monthly...

Greetings from New York

2008-06-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

New York Resident Magazine used a few of my Large Letter postcards from the east coast, along with some vintage views for a feature article in their June issue. The large letter cards in particular always seem to add a nice "retro" feel to any travel article.

Go Blow Yourself

2008-06-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

I listed this card with the little tuba player a few weeks ago, and I knew it would sell quickly. Children and music instruments are always popular topics. And of course the caption is great!

Mt. Washington Hotel Postcards

2008-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

I was at the Mt. Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH not too long ago and along with many nice historical prints in the lobby and halls, they also have a huge framed postcard display:

I think this is the largest single group of framed cards I've seen on display.

Looking for Postcards in All the Wrong Places

2008-04-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

I spent most of last month in Milwaukee. One place I visited was Johnson Controls. You've probably seen their products - they've been making commercial thermostats for around 100 years. They have a little museum in their lobby that shows some of their products over the years. On one wall of the lobby they had this display of postcard images mixed in with images of their products. I'm not quite sure what they were going for here since there wasn't a description, but I'm guessing the old postcards represented buildings that had installed Johnson Controls products. They had quite a few cards from the early 1900's and some Chromes. Kind of a neat way to display them though - as you can see it has a 3-D look, with each of the cards suspended off the glass behind it.

Framed Postcards - Ambassador Hotel

2008-03-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was in Milwaukee for most of last month. I stayed at the Ambassador hotel downtown a couple nights. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but step inside and it's a time warp to the 1930's. I have a few cards of the Ambassador from the 40's and 50's myself, but it was great to see a framed collection of cards displayed prominently in the lobby.

I like how they have the back of one of the mailed cards showing the message. I get a lot of requests for duplicate cards so folks can display both sides of the card. Most view cards, especially hotels, have some descriptive text on the back (owners, phone numbers, rates) so they make for nice front & back displays.

I think of postcards as works of art - so framing them as such makes perfect sense to me. Of course many topical (Oilettes for example) and Artist Signed cards were in fact prints of original artwork, but even Linens and Chrome cards have a level of artistry not seen in many modern cards.

Publishers of the Past

2008-03-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

Similar to my last post, I got this email last week from a postcard publisher:

What a giggle it was to find the picture of the McCray Memorial Hospital of Kendallville, IN on the Internet. This is one of several picture postcards I published in 1953 of views of Kendlllville. I expect I still have a few in a box someplace. In fact I just ran across the original Ecktachromes earlier today.

Postcard Serendipity

2008-02-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

Once in a while someone stumbles across a card on my site that has special meaning to them. I got this email from a customer last week:

Just to let you know, that the old Dutch windmill was total serendipity! I was doing research and stumbled on your site. That windmill has sentimental meaning to me so I checked it out. As luck would have it, that particular card was addressed to my great grandmother! Just by a fluke!!! Can you believe it! I was so flabbergasted I almost wet my pants! I had to buy it! Not only that, but after I found it, I noticed you had two. The other had already been sold, but I had not seen the other until I had gotten the one with my great grandmother. Is that not a kick?! Thank you for indulging my story on you. We will be talking about this one for a long time to come! I only wish my Grammie was alive, she would have really gotten a kick out of this!

I'd probably get a lot more notes like this if I had the text from the messages on all my cards, but unfortunately it's too difficult to enter that information at this time.

100 Happy New Years

2007-12-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

One of my new year's resolutions was to start a blog, so I'm going to check this one off early. I look at thousands of postcards each month, and often find ones that are worth commenting on, so I hope to use this as a forum to mention notable finds and other random Postcard thoughts.

Since New Year's Eve 2008 is next week I thought it would interesting to look at a few postcards from 1908.

I thought this one was interesting, even though technically it's for New Years 1909.

I couldn't find much info on the history of New Years Elves. Are these Santa's elves? Where are they going with all the cash? You might think they're handing out money as New Years gifts, but these elves don't look all that charitable. I'm thinking Santa might have taken a bit more than cookies and milk on Christmas eve and now his elves are helping him launder the cash in a Ponzi scheme in Greenland.

Here's another one from the same series. You can see there's also a what looks like a playing card in the elf's hand. Maybe the elves took hustled Santa in a no-limit game of Texas Hold-em.

Anyway, I'd be curious to hear more about the history of the symbolism here with the elves, money, moon, and playing cards.