The Pennsylvania State House, or more familiarly Independence Hall has been the site for many significant events in American history. Not the least of which was the adoption of our Declaration of Independence. The document that started the greatest human experiment of all time.
The Declaration of Independence is 246 years old today. It may be a difficult read but it still works for everyone.
Welcome to Independence Week. The four Postcard History articles this week will feature the city, the declaration, the hall, and more. Postcards tell these stories well. Enjoy.
“Somehow people always think if a group of artists work together that then there must automatically be some sort of organization that coordinates it all. Well, in mail art there are many groups working together.” These are not our words — they come from the info section of the website International Union of Mail-Artists. There are 381 (!) member groups of all sorts of interests. We swiped the image above from a recent posting to the home page because it tickled our funny bone. Our horizons have been widened and yours will be too.
In contrast to the excitement and enthusiasm of the IUOM-A as noted above, here’s an apocalyptic-sounding view of the postcard’s future from the Washington Post of 2015, “Are Postcards Obsolete?” Its content isn’t as dire as the title suggests (we blame whoever the editor was who assigned the title to the article), but, since many people only read titles, it wasn’t helpful.
No screams were heard that the French are coming when Edith Piaf arrived in New York, but the French chanteuse soon became our Queen of Hearts. She sang La Vie en Rose every night and the crowds returned for more. Piaf is the one who reminds us that great popular art didn’t begin with Elvis or the Beatles.
This primer for the novice collector will aid in learning the age of a postcard and understanding the characteristics of social and technological advances in printing and manufacturing of postcards around the world. Much of what Americans collect today had its beginnings in Europe; even older cards from your hometown may carry the “Printed in Germany” missive. Although this information is old-hat for veteran collectors, don’t hesitate to refresh your memory and stay-sharp when making judgements about buying cards for your collection.
Postcard History is a free online magazine dedicated to vintage and historic picture postcards and the many stories associated with them. We feature richly illustrated articles designed to both inform and entertain postcard collectors and history buffs. We also provide the most comprehensive listing of forthcoming shows around. And there’s a rich trove of links to institutional and personal online postcard collections. There’s also a comprehensive, verified listing of active postcard clubs in the U. S. and Canada, which we’re working on expanding worldwide.
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