THE ORIGIN OF THE POSTCARD
HOME	HISTORY				OFFICERS	PROGRAMME			FAIRS
THE GOLDEN AGE					MAP	MODERN POSTCARDS
					POSTCARD TYPES
THE FIRST POSTCARDS
			The first postcard was introduced in Austria on 1^st October, 1869. Great Britain relaxed its postal regulations and followed suit exactly one year later, allowing postcards to be sent through the mail. Three things will be noticed about these cards. (1) They have no picture (the back is blank for
messages). (2) The “stamp” is imprinted on the address side of the card and (3) the whole of the address side is taken up with the address. The cards were simply seen as a quick and cheap way of sending non-confidential messages. No thought had been given to the inclusion of pictures. Nevertheless the introduction of the
message postcard was an essential precursor to the picture postcard which made its appearance towards the end of the 19^th Century.
PICTURE POSTCARDS MAKE THEIR APPEARANCE
		Whereas it is possible to give a precise date for the introduction of the purely message postcard, no such precision can be accorded to the introduction of illustrated cards.
It is believed that picture cards made their appearance gradually, progressing from small vignette views such as this one shown here of the Terminus Hotel in Nice, to “half cards” like this French card dated 1899.
				By this time vignette cards with an illustration occupying most of the picture side with only a small space for the message had appeared. But it was not until 1902 that the Post Office again relaxed their regulations to allow for a message to be written on the address side, leaving the whole of the other side available for the picture.