American Postcard Chronology: Divided Back (1907-18)


Figure 1.-- The divided-back era began on March 1, 1907. The divided back made it possible for both the address and the message to be on the back of the card. This prevented the face of the card from being written on and proved to be a great boon for collectors. Normally the view colors or images filled the entire card with no white border. The primary publisher was AZO. Here we see a divided back postcard in 1914, it also had a white border. .

The divided-back era began on March 1, 1907. The divided back made it possible for both the address and the message to be on the back of the card. This prevented the face of the card from being written on and proved to be a great boon for collectors. Normally the view colors or images filled the entire card with no white border. The primary publisher was AZO. AZO and other companies put stamp boxes on the back of the cards. The can be used to date the cards. People could have their family snapshots printed with post card backs. Studios also printed portraits wth postcard backs. As Countries like England, France, and Germany had more advanced postcard industries, many cards were imported. Thus many of the cards used in America during this period were imported. British and Germans cards were especially popular in America and were usually the highest quality cards. The German made card here is a good example (figure 1). Rafael Tuck and Sons was especially well known and began exporting postcards to the United States beginning in 1899. With the onset of World War I (1914-18), German cards were no longer available in America because of the British naval blockade. British cards also decreased in availability as Britain focused its economy on the War. This disription gave a boost to domestic American companies. Divided back cards were the standard in the United States until the 'white border' cards appeared.






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Created: 10:31 PM 6/9/2018
Last updated: 10:31 PM 6/9/2018