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Curt Teich postcards are easy to date from the company production
number printed on the postcard. A guide
to this dating system (PDF file) is available.
Dates for real photo postcards can sometimes be determined
from the stamp box. Approximate dates can also be determined
by looking closely at the image. Look at the type of transportation
,Äì are there automobiles or horse-drawn vehicles,
and look at the way people are dressed, these are clues to the
date. If the card was sent through the mail, look at the date
of the postmark.
The style of the card can also give you a clue as to the date
of the card. In the United States, the Private Mailing Card was
authorized by Congress in 1898 and could be mailed for the same
one-cent rate as government postal cards. The cards were stamped
"Private Mailing Card" and were printed from 1898 -
1901.
From 1901 - 1907, cards were labeled either "Postcard"
or "Post Card" and had an undivided back. Usually the
image side of the card had a small white area for writing the
message, and only the address was allowed on the stamp side.
Beginning March 1, 1907, both message and address could be
written on the stamp side of the postcard. From about 1915 -
1930, cards with white borders were very popular.
The linen-style postcards began about 1930 and lasted into
the late 1940s, although the Curt Teich Company continued to
print linen cards through 1959. This type of card was printed
on a high quality paper, which looked like linen. White or colored
borders were popular.
Chrome postcards began to appear in the late 1940s. These
cards are the same glossy picture postcards available today.
About 1970, the larger 4" x 6" Continental cards began
to appear.
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