Postcards, open letters, "post sheets" or open postcards began to appear independently in different parts of Europe at the end of the 18th century. At that time they were created mainly by engravers, and they have not survived to this day. Later, with the increasing popularity of this type of congratulations, postcards were drawn by the best artists of their time. In particular, in Russia, famous artists created their postcards and, thanks to the Community of St. Eugenia, distributed them throughout the empire.
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947)
For the first time, postcards with reproductions appeared in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century in publications of the Community of St. Eugenia of the St. Petersburg Trustee Committee about the sisters of mercy of the Red Cross. The first, a drawing for the poem “The Feast of Peter the Great,” was published in 1902. The privileged position of the Red Cross and the Eugene Society, with which Roerich collaborated for many years, made it possible to distribute domestic and foreign postcards among the population, thereby introducing schoolchildren, students and older people living in the most remote corners of the empire to the best examples of art. After the Roerich family moved to the USA, postcards with the artist’s works were published in quite large editions there, as well as in Paris and even in India. Therefore, we can assume that postcards by Nicholas Roerich still exist all over the world.
An old postcard with a reproduction of Nicholas Roerich's painting "The Messenger"
Postcard with a reproduction of Nicholas Roerich's painting "The Feast of Peter the Great"
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Elisabeth Böhm (1843-1914)
At the beginning of the twentieth century, many postcards, heralds of the New Year, were published based on paintings by the famous artist Elisabeth Böhm. The so-called open letters are an important part of her artistic heritage. In total, there are about 300 postcards created by her for various publications, but most of all, for the Community of St. Eugenia (like Nicholas Roerich).
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Bertha Corbett (1872-1950)
Few people know the name of the American artist Bertha Corbett herself, but many can at least visually recognize the character she created - Sunbonnet Sue - a little girl in a huge cap covering her face. This character was born in 1900 and appeared on children's clothing and furniture, on calendars and postcards.
Postcards of the famous artist Bertha Corbett
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Ivan Bilibin (1876-1942)
The outstanding Russian “fairytale” illustrator Ivan Bilibin also created several series of postcards. Most of them are dedicated to the beauty of the northern part of Russia.
Postcards of Ivan Bilibin
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939)
The luxurious, languid women of the Czech artist were extremely popular among the European public and sold thousands of copies in the form of posters, playing cards and postcards. The excellent decorative execution of Mucha's works satisfied the tastes of the elite public. Presenting a postcard with a reproduction of his work was considered a beautiful gesture.
Alphonse Mucha's postcards
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
During the period of his life in Vienna from 1908 to 1914, the future Fuhrer, and at that time a young artist trying his hand, Adolf Hitler sold his paintings and postcards to earn a living.
Adolf Hitler postcard
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Paul Klee (1879-1940)
The German artist did not specialize in creating postcards, but together with students and teachers of the Weimar Bauhaus School, he created several postcards for an exhibition in 1923. These postcards were published on the website of the New York Museum of Modern Art.
Postcard by artist Paul Klee
Vintage postcards of famous artists. Vladimir Zarubin (1925-1996)
If you were born and raised in the Soviet Union, you will probably recognize the ones created by this wonderful artist, cartoonist and animator. Even despite the huge circulation of Zarubin’s works, his postcards still emanate the kindness and carefreeness of childhood. His works are highly valued by collectors and are a separate topic of philocracy.
Interested sale of old postcards? Do you want to add new interesting items to your collection or sell valuable cards? The online auction Soberu.ru is at your service, where all this can be done quickly, profitably and with maximum comfort!
What is a phylocarty?
What is a phylocarty? This is the area of collecting postcards, as well as their study and systematization, which allows you to touch various milestones of history, culture, science and learn many interesting facts. The fascinating hobby originated at the end of the 19th century, which was facilitated by the mass production of cards that became internationally distributed. At the beginning of the 20th century, philocarty became one of the most popular types of collecting, prices for old postcards began to rise, and the purchase of old postcards became increasingly relevant. And this is not surprising, because each card is a beautiful imprint of the past, a certain moment in everyday life, which seems to be frozen in history. Old postcards can tell a lot, being a kind of universal digest of the twentieth century, which reflects important world events along with the slightest changes in people's lives. This is what it is - a delightful and quite interesting phylocartia. Prices for old postcards depend proportionally on the age and rarity of the subject, and have recently increased due to increased demand.
Popular Postcard Collecting Topics
Each collector chooses his own topic of interest, which determines the direction of the entire collection. The following topics have gained particular popularity:
- with beautiful views. As a rule, cards are collected with views of one country, territory, city, or with views of certain buildings, monumental compositions, and natural landscapes;
- congratulatory. This is a large group of cards that are dedicated to holidays and specific events;
- militaria (with types of different troops, often from the First World War). They are especially valuable with types of underwater and aerial vehicles for military purposes;
- postcards (a special type where the image is on the address side and the other side is blank);
- unusual specimens made from non-standard materials (for example, using wood, celluloid, metal, silk, leather, birch bark, bird feathers);
- cards “banned” in Soviet times, issued by Russian emigrants.
Soberu.ru is an ideal option for updating your collection!
To make it easier to find the necessary items for the collection, we have created a special Philocartia section, the prices of which are very affordable. Thanks to thematic subcategories, it is not difficult to buy and sell old postcards - everything is as simple and fast as possible. What value do they have? Cards are a product of mass production, so even century-old “open letters,” as they are called, can be purchased for only a hundred or two rubles. However, among them there are real rarities, and an entire postcard auction is held for sale. Philocarty is such an interesting field that the most expensive card was once sold for £22,000 - this handmade Christmas card dates back to 1840 and was produced in an edition of one thousand copies (only 12 of them survive today). The price of old postcards can also be determined by other factors, for example, the presence of autographs and signatures of famous people.
On Soberu.ru you can always buy old postcards to replenish your collection, as well as sell old postcards, delighting like-minded people with rare copies. Welcome to the world of amazing antiques!
I’m starting to share scans of pre-revolutionary postcards from my grandmother’s collection. A series of posts on this topic risks taking a long time, so hang in there! :)
The most interesting thing, of course, is to look at postcards that were used for their intended purpose, i.e. once upon a time, sent to someone by mail. The oldest of these postcards I found was sent in 1904 from Yalta to my great-great-grandmother’s brother Ivan Petrovich Florinsky.
By the way, as you can see, old-style postcards did not have any other text on the back side except the address.
And the short text of the message will be squeezed into the edges on the other side of the postcard.
"Dear Ivan Petrovich! I send my heartfelt greetings to you with wishes of all the best. My bow to Ivan Nikolaevich, Pavel Nikolaevich, Sergei Petrovich and all my friends. From 7 o’clock until 5 o’clock we are warmed by the mighty sun of the beautiful south"
It turns out that just in the same 1904 they began to issue new postcards of a more familiar type to us, where the address is written on one side and the text of the message on the other. Here, for example, is news from the same Ivan Petrovich to his brother Alexander Petrovich. 1906. The capital letter D, judging by the stamp, means “pay extra.”
"Dear Sasha! I will insure your ticket No. 350/-45 from the May 1st draw. One of these days I will come to see you. I. Florinsky"
Here's another postcard from 1911. The recipient is my great-grandmother Alexandra Semenovna Sokolova.
“Dear Shura! How do you live and spend your time? I haven’t heard anything about you for a long time, and whoever you ask, for some reason everyone considers me more knowledgeable about you. Recently I saw: St. Mar (?), two Sokolovs A and M. The ladies have become very respectable, they’re not much like the old carefree girls. You probably won’t recognize me either, I’ve changed? I’d really like to see you, but of course I don’t have to. So, be a friend, write about yourself, I’ll be very grateful.”
And another one, also 1911. Alexandra (great-grandmother) writes to her aunt Anna Petrovna Florinskaya.
“Dear aunt! Mommy is better. Today they had another 6000 vaccination. L.A. came and said that things were getting better. Now mommy has started eating, her throat doesn’t hurt and the swelling is disappearing. L.A. will arrive in 2 days. Daddy sent money to the editor, and that means you will soon receive a newspaper. “Your Sanya.”
Most of grandma's postcards are so-called “view cards” of old Moscow. Either black and white or colored. These old trams, horse-drawn carriages and ladies in long skirts make me terribly happy. There will be a separate post about these postcards, and most likely more than one :)
Almost all of them are empty, have not been sent anywhere by mail, and look something like this from the inside. By the way, it turns out that the word “postcard” itself was not even used in those days. Later it became an abbreviation for the combination "open letter".
Well, and a few more scans of the colorful side of open letters.
Postcard from Warsaw.
Photo collage on a telephone theme.
A postcard with a secret. The postman's briefcase opens, and in it lies a small, small image of the Moscow Kremlin :)
That's all for now. There will be a sequel soon!
P.S.
While I was writing the post, I even wanted to send a postcard to someone :)) Or receive it from someone;)