Archive for the ‘Post Card’ Category

Prospecting With Postcards

Friday, July 16th, 2010

ticket for you.

With the postcards all there is to do is gain some name recognition like top of mind awareness. Coming up with quirky catch phrases, slick picture or just a photo of something that expresses what you or your company is all about will make an image in the clients mind.

Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there’s more to Post Card than you may have first thought.

A good thing to do is to gather your prospect contact info and mail out one card each week for four weeks. Timeing the mailing so they’ll receive them midweek. Mondays and Fridays are bad since folks are getting over the weekend or looking forward to it. During the fifth week it is good to make a phone call to follow up and ask for an appointment to see if there’s a fit for both of you.

The trick here is to first prequalify the prospects as best you can. You’ll do more qualifying when you follow up. Next, keep the mailing small for this type of campaign. Doing these in groups of twenty to twenty-five. Anymore than that can be overwhelming for follow up calls. Announcements and such can be larger, wide net mailings. For this type of campaign it’s important to remember that if you don’t follow up you’re potentially wasting your time and money.

This technique will work well for you if you work it. Even in todays high tech e-mail world the touch of a personal note is well received. It’s good to ask though if you can add them to your contact list for e-mailed news releases and little “infos” to send out periodically like links to articles, useful sites I find etc. just to stay in touch.

It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on Post Card. Compare what you’ve learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of Post Card.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

Postcards And Genealogy

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

For ancestors who lived during the 20th century, postcards are a delightful way to learn more about their lives and communities. Picture postcards were very popular worldwide by the dawn of the 20th century due to their novelty and the fact that postage was cheap. From automobiles to street scenes and hairstyles to people, postcards provide intriguing glimpses into the past.

If you are lucky enough to have postcards sent or received by your ancestors you may learn unknown information about the family, gain handwriting samples and even find addresses to help you track family movements and history. Even if you aren’t fortunate enough to have access to a family postcard collection, you can often find postcards depicting your ancestor’s hometown, clothing styles of the time period, types of employment etc. A good place to start is with the local historical society or library in the area in which your ancestor lived or at local antique stores. Many postcard collections are also beginning to spring up on the internet. Look to postcards as a wonderful alternative to photographs for illuminating the lives of your ancestors and of days gone by.

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

Turning yesterdays mail Into genealogy treasures is becoming a sought after collection!
How awesome would it be to find a hand written letter from a grandparent forty years after they have passed away. Think about the anticipation at your family reunion when you and all your relatives open the letters your ancestors wrote one hundred years earlier. That would be incredible information and exciting too. Did your ancestor write down and pass on stories that were otherwise lost or distorted by failing memories and word-of-mouth recollections? The written word survives long beyond man’s ability to recall. Imagine the enjoyment you will get learning thoughts and wisdom of someone you never got the chance to know as a child. Heart warming to say the least. Your ancestors words are the most precious gift of all especially for a surviving loved one or generations yet to come.

These postcards and letters also provide wonderful factual information that is helpful to your genealogy research. You won’t have to go into the daunting task blindsighted. On the items it’s possible to find dates and places of important events, names of other family members, and of course addresses. Postcards play an important part in everyone’s genealogy if only from the standpoint of America or the immigration of our ancestors. There is a place in all of us that wants to know our roots so to speak and postcard genealogy is one of the many ways to bring our ancestors back to life.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

New Year’s Day Postcards

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

This article explains a few things about Post Card, and if you’re interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don’t know.

When the picture postcard fad hit America nearly a century ago, publishers found a ready market for special greeting cards for every holiday including New Year’s. The public eagerly purchased seasonal postcards to exchange with relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers. They were also lovingly saved in keepsake albums.
New Year’s Day items were especially attractive because of their superior artistic designs and the fascinating array of seasonal features found on them. Nearly every theme and topic associated with New Year throughout the centuries found its way onto the different postcards crafted by countless artists in the earliest years of the century which would be from 1900 to about 1916. Both domestic and imported cards featured grandfather clocks, watches, father time and lovely women and radiant angels.

Though they often relied on traditional symbols and motifs, American illustrators did drawings in a more modern style than did their counterparts in Europe. Holiday revelers in autos were heavily favored by International Art Pub. Co. (New York City). Funny scenes of tipsy gentlemen and other portrayals of holiday celebrating are characteristic of American made New Year’s Day postcards. Artists such as Ellen Clapsaddle, Frances Brundage, and H. B. Griggs (“HBG”) have always commanded a great amount of attention from collectors.

So intense was the competition that many companies resorted to adding extra attractions to their cards. Nearly all quality cards automatically came embossed and many were embellished with gelatin coatings, gold and silver etchings, and gold backgrounds. Tinsel was added and edges scalloped. Also marketed were blank check postcards in which the recipient received a “check” good for “a million joys in the coming year,” or something similarly whimsical attachment of every kind were applied. The list includes die-cuts of flowers, horseshoes, doves and little notes in tiny envelopes. A number of “magic light” varieties such as hold-to lights and transparencies enjoyed brisk sales.

Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there’s more to Post Card than you may have first thought.

Quite often, especially after 1910, many publishers and distributors took old stocks of other postcard topics including scenes of animals, children and lovely ladies then overprinted them with all sorts of New Year’s greetings.
Among foreign publishers, none was more prolific or produced better cards than Raphael Tuck & Sons. The London firm exported huge numbers of holiday postcards to this country. Their artists favored charming children, beautiful women and Father Time. However, floral designs were also used extensively.

The modern day folded greeting card and envelope came into prominence in the 1920s and has remained the standard ever since. Very little modern activity has ever occurred in regard to New Year’s Day postcards.
Today’s collectors are very lucky in that a vast amount of New Year’s Day postcards is still available. Prices, except for about 10% of the very best and most beautiful cards tend to be a bit lower than those for other holidays. It is still possible to put together a very good collection of the New Year holiday.

If you’ve picked some pointers about Post Card that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

Wooden Postcards and Other Vintage Designs

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Wooden postcards tend to fall within three eras: early, vintage (1930s to 1950s) and modern. Several different designs of wooden cards were issued for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Most of these cards consisted mainly of puns on various words associated with wood.

For example:
Exposition is more than oak-a, it is ash-tonishing, you cedar sights of your life…More fun than the beech. I wood spruce up and come. You walnut regret it. Butternut delay.

The Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905 and the Jamestown Exposition of 1907 also had wooden souvenir postcards. Some of the earliest cards that look like wood and are advertised as wooden probably are cardboard imitations of wood.
The hobby of woodburning or pyrography, was very popular during the same years as the golden age of postcard collecting. The burnt wood postcards are similar in design to leather postcards but the designs were hand burned by the postcard buyer. The wooden cards are also much harder to get than the leather cards.
Most of the burnt wood postcards were burned over printed designs. Some designs may have been copied or traced from patterns although possibly the artist’s design was reversed or altered by the manufacturer. Flemish Art was the largest and best-known pyrographic manufacturer.

leather cards

Leather postcards sometimes had a printed design. This was used to show buildings and other precision details. The brown ink used was difficult to tell from an actual burned design. Not being of card stock, the postcard was mailed at the 2¢ letter rate.

Letter Card

The Letter Card was a product used exclusively in Canada by the Folkard Company of Canada Limited, Montreal. It comprised a pre-printed letter sheet that when folded and glued closed could be mailed as a postcard. To open and read the message you would tear off a perforated and gummed margin.

Think about what you’ve read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about Post Card? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

Moonlight Effect

In the era when photographing by moonlight was a great technical achievement, postcard publishers came up with a means of faking such views. You had to be very meticulous trying to simulate accurate moonlight conditions. A day scene was selected with no people or shadows in sight. The view was then retouched by darkening the sky. Painting a disc in the sky represented the moon and brightly lighting the windows gave the impression of a night scene.

Multiple-Fold Panoramic

The multiple-fold panoramic postcard was a long horizontal format card usually with a panoramic view of a city that was folded for mailing.

Sunken Centre Photographs

Sunken centre real photograph postcards have a wide white border slightly raised by embossing so that the picture or pictures seem to be framed.

That’s the latest from the Post Card authorities. Once you’re familiar with these ideas, you’ll be ready to move to the next level.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

Picture Postcard Fascination

Monday, June 21st, 2010

No hobby quite compares with collecting postcards in the way it caters for all interests. Whether you’re a football fan, mad about the royal family, fascinated with American Presidents, keen on local history, a railway buff or a student of zoology, picture postcards offer you a marvelous stimulus for your hobby. And for those merely nostalgic and interested in the events and fashions of the past century, the postcard amoxicillin online encapsulates it all.

Postcards are fascinating and collectable in lots of different ways. Each example is a snapshot of the past: a moment, a slice of social history, frozen in time. Every postcard that has gone through the post tells you a little bit about its place in the bygone world. The picture, stamp, postmark, message and address are part of the life of two people…the sender and the recipient but in the past. Few collectors are lucky enough to find a postcard written by a famous person, but many writers referred to current events in their messages.

Most of this information comes straight from the Post Card pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

Postcards provide a panorama of the events of the twentieth century: inaugurations, sporting events, horrific accidents, local events, great exhibitions, world wars. They show the development of rail, road, sea and air transport. They feature actresses, bishops, politicians, evangelist and star gazers. Also anyone who might be newsworthy and heroic. National firms published cards of countrywide interest, while in every town and city were local photographers who recorded all the interesting events of the day and published them as picture postcards. So a photograph of the annual sports in a village could be mailed anywhere in America or the world to friends and relatives. The local railway station, cinema, hospital, church or school would appear on a card. Anything that was part of a community was a likely subject for publishers to use.
Some of the world’s best known serious and comic artists of the early 20th century had their work featured on postcards, including art nouveau exponents Alphonse Mucha and Raphael Kirchner. In Britain, Mabel Lucie Attwell’s children, Alfred Quinton’s landscapes, Louis Wain’s cats, Tom Browne’s ordinary people, and Donald McGill’s henpecked husbands can all be found on cards.

With such a wide choice of fascinating postcards to collect there really is plenty to suit anyone’s pocket. Even some cards a century old can cost just a few dollars, the best street scenes attract prices in excess of forty dollars. Special subject cards like theTitanic, Popes and football teams can rate over one hundred dollars. More mundane themes like flowers, churches and country views can be bought cheaply. Age doesn’t always provide an indication of expense either for a card from the 1970′s may sell for more than one from the Edwardian era. Whatever their subject or price postcards can be and are fascinating! Postcards have been entertaining the world, used for many purposes, kept lovers connected and imprinted society with history to pass down through the generations to come. The fascination of postcards has never nor will ever go out of style no matter how high tech the world gets.

As your knowledge about Post Card continues to grow, you will begin to see how Post Card fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest acquisition: Adsense Sites and make sure to download the free adsense sites package!

Chrome Era — 1939 to Present

Friday, June 18th, 2010

In 1939 the Union Oil Co. of California began publishing postcard views of Southwestern scenes which were given away as premiums in the company’s service stations. The Union Oil cards introduced new printing technology. Cards were printed in four-color half-tone process with a varnish overcoat called photochrome probably because of their link to Kodak’s newly introduced Kodachrome color reversal slide film. Kodachrome slides were the cornerstone for most of these new photochrome cards. This name soon was shortened by collectors to chrome. This new technology yielded a high-quality, detailed image with a shiny surface that was close to photographic quality and in realistic color. World War II slowed their spread but in the early 1950′s chrome cards took over the postcard market replacing both linens and black-and-white real-photo views.

Postcards to this day are still almost entirely chromes. The computer has changed the look of view cards in the last few years as designers working with digital image-editing software have turned blue skies into blazing sunsets with expanse of color not seen since the linen cards of the 1930s. In addition they added larger and larger type effects reflecting the public’s preoccupation with logos and brand names.

The most noticeable change in postcards since the beginning of the chrome era has been their size:

The more authentic information about Post Card you know, the more likely people are to consider you a Post Card expert. Read on for even more Post Card facts that you can share.

- “Standard.” For almost a century the standard size for a postcard was 5 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. The first postal cards issued by the Post Office were roughly the same size as a standard mailing envelope in the middle of the 19th Century. Private manufacturers of postcards quickly began to experiment with the size of cards — small ones and fold-outs and double-wide panoramas for example. Throughout the golden age of postcards though from the pioneer era through white borders and real-photos and linens and chromes, the vast majority of postcards were this standard 5 1/2-by-3 1/2 size.

- “Continental.” In the last two or three decades it seems everything in America has been supersized, from french fries to toilet paper. Postcards are no exception. The “standard” size for postcards has increased from 5 1/2-by-3 12 to 4-by-6. Collectors call these larger cards “continentals,” because presumably the larger size first became common on the Continent.

- “Supercontinental.” The latest development in the never-ending battle to create something that will catch buy the public’s eye and pry open its wallet are postcards that are even larger than “continental” — 7 by 4.5 inches and up. These are too big to mail at the postcard rate (currently 23 cents): the Postal Service requires letter-rate postage, 37 cents. Probably few of them are actually mailed, anyway. These megacards seem to be marketed as souvenirs, mini-posters to be taken home and put on a mirror or a refrigerator for your own enjoyment or memories.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest acquisition: Adsense Sites and make sure to download the free adsense sites package!

British Seaside Postcards

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

and make sure to download the free adsense sites package!

Postcards That Are Worth A Pretty Penny

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

While the vast majority of all postcards made are not very valuable some are considered to be rare and desirable by collectors and these can be worth quite a bit of money.

For rare examples prices can go into the low thousands of dollars and it is certainly not all that uncommon to find a $50 postcard hiding in a pile of ordinary cards. Combing through 175 cards it would not be surprising to find one or two that are worth $5 to $10 or even more.

The classic postcard era was from 1898 to 1918 and the cards that fall in this time frame are the most collectible to collectors as a rule. It is usually the topic or the image or the artist who created the image that establishes its value. Serious postcard collectors are interested in a wide variety of subjects.

Most of this information comes straight from the Post Card pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

Holiday cards are very popular. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter and Valentine’s Day postcards are rather common, but cards sent for Halloween, Labor Day, and Ground Hog Day aren’t. Halloween cards are particularly popular right now and some of the most desired ones were created by artist Ellen Clapsaddle. Three of her mechanical Halloween cards with moving parts sold for a little less than $1,500. Artist-signed cards are another focus of strong collector interest. Pieces signed by Rose O’Neil (particularly her Kewpie cards), Philip Boileau, Arpad Basch (in the Art Nouveau style), Grace Drayton, Raphael Kirchner, Alphonse Mucha (look for his card advertising “Waverly Cycles”), Louis Wain (cats and paper dolls) and Florence Upton, to name just a few, are extremely popular.

We said earlier that Christmas cards were common but there are certain types of Christmas cards that are valuable. There are vast quantities featuring a white Santa Claus in a red suit but find a Santa in a different color of suit or come across a black Santa and you have something of a treasure. Find one in purple robes and the value might shoot up to around $200. One in blue robes trimmed in brown fur and the value can top $400. Postcard collectors look for what they call hold-to-light cards which have elements such as windows and fireplaces that seem to light up when the back of the card is held to a light. A New Year’s hold-to-light card might be worth between $75 and $100 while a regular New Year’s card might be worth very little.

Other cards to look for include the real photo cards of small towns or actual events. These can be rather expensive because there may have been only a few specimens of each view printed. Real photo cards that collectors find interesting can go up to the $5,000 dollars and such images as golfers playing a famous course can bring $350 or more.
To be valuable, postcards must be in good condition with no creases or folds. They should not have corners that are dog eared. Fronts that are not written on is the best (backs are ok) and no discoloration. Keep hunting for your treasured postcard and who’s to say yours won’t be worth a pretty penny.

Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about Post Card into just one article. But you can’t deny that you’ve just added to your understanding about Post Card, and that’s time well spent.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest acquisition: Adsense Sites and make sure to download the free adsense sites package!

History Of Erotic Postcards

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

History of erotic postcards refers to the history of the art and process of taking pictures of unclothed subjects. In the United States all portraits from prior to January 1, 1923 have passed into the public domain. Most are in black-and-white, since they predate the 1953 invention of Kodachrome.

Early beginnings

Nude pictures prior to 1835 generally consisted of paintings and drawings. That year, Louis-Jacques-Mende’Deguerre’invented the first practical process of photography. Unlike earlier photographs, his daguerreotypes had stunning quality and did not fade with time. The new technology did not go unnoticed by artists eager for new ways to depict the undraped feminine form. Many of the surviving examples of daguerreotypes clearly have a sensuality that implies they were designed as erotic or pornographic images.

The daguerreotypes were not without drawbacks, however. The main difficulty was that they could only be reproduced by photographing the original picture. In addition, the earliest daguerreotypes had exposure times ranging from three to fifteen minutes making them somewhat impractical for portraiture. Since one picture could cost a week’s salary, the audience for nudes mostly consisted of artists and the upper class of society. Nude stereoscopy began in 1838 and became extremely popular. In 1841, William Fox Talbot patented the calotype process which was the first negative-positive process making possible multiple copies. The technology was immediately used to reproduce nude portraits.

French influence

The French pioneered erotic photography producing nude postcards that became the subject of an officers letter to President Abraham Lincoln after they were found in the possession of US troops according to An Underground Education by Richard Zacks. A Brief History of Postcards explains, “A majority of the French nude postcards were called postcards because of the size. They were never meant to be postally sent. It was illegal at that time.” Instead, nudes were marketed in a monthly magazine called the “La Beaute” that targeted artists looking for poses. Each issue contained 75 nude images which could be ordered by mail in the form of postcards hand-tinted or sepia toned. Street dealers, tobacco shops and a variety of other vendors bought the photographs for resale to American tourists.

Think about what you’ve read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about Post Card? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

Early 20th century

The early 1900s saw several important improvements in camera design, including the 1913 invention of the 35-mm or “candid” camera by Oskar Barnack of the Ernst Leitz company. The Ur-Leica was a compact camera based on the idea of reducing the format of negatives and enlarging them later after they had been exposed. This small portable device made nude photography in secluded parks and other semi-public places easier. It was a plus for amateur erotica. Artists were enamored with their new ability to take impromptu photos without carrying around a clunky apparatus.

Early 20th century artist E.J. Bollocq is best remembered for his down-to-earth pictures of French prostitutes in domestic settings in the red light district of New Orleans. In contrast to the usual pictures of women awkwardly posed amid drapery, veils, flowers, fruit, classical columns and oriental braziers, Bellocq’s sitters appear relaxed and comfortable.
Julian Mandel became known in the 1920s and 1930s for his exceptional photographs of the female form. Participating in the German “new age outdoor movement,” A John Hopkins University scholarship was named in his honor.
Another noteworthy nude photographer of the first two decades of the 20th century was Arundel Holmes Nicholls. His work, featured in the archives of the Kinsey Institute, is artistically composed often giving an iridescent glow to his figures. Following in Mandel’s footsteps, Nicholls favored outdoor shots.

Many photographs from this era are damaged; Bellocq, for instance, frequently scratched out the faces of his sitters to obscure their identities. Some of his other sitters were photographed wearing masks as well to hide who they were.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this great product..
- Do you want to make Your PDF files viral? Use This Secret Viral PDF Rebrander: Viral PDF

Design Your Own Postcard

Friday, May 21st, 2010

So what is Post Card really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Post Card–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

With Netpost Services of the United States Postal Service you can create and mail your own postcards. Cards can be sent from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world.

Although stock card designs are offered, the real advantage of using the Netpost Service phentermine is the ability to use your own photos and designs. The applications are limited only by your creativity. Anything that can be captured in a JPEG digital image can be put on a postcard.

Premium Postcards can be ordered for 84¢ each which includes postage and mailing. The Premium Postcards are 4.25 inches by 6 inches, are printed in full-color on thick cardstock and have a glossy scuff resistant coating. When ordering you simply upload or choose an image for the front of the card then write a message online for the back. The back of the card can also have an image in place of the text.

The best time to learn about Post Card is before you’re in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable Post Card experience while it’s still free.

To get started go to the www.usps.com website and sign in. Look for a link for Netpost Services online pharmacy or sending cards. You may need to have an account before you can access all the instructions needed to create your cards. Since the instructions may change this will just give some basic information about what is required.

You will need a digital image in JPEG format and some sort of photo-editing software to conform to the image requirements. Your image should be sized to print at 5.50 inches by 3.75 inches with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (maximum 600 dpi). Actually this is the ideal….larger images will be resized proportionally and you can probably get by with any resolution over 200 dpi. You can include type in the image you upload or add it during the online creation process. The online feature for adding text to the image is very limited in choice of fonts and positioning, so it is best to add the text before you upload the image.

A really fun project in creating postcards is a project you can do with small kids. It is quite simple and they will have a blast doing it. All is needed is a photo, index card and some glue. Just glue you picture to the index card and let your child create his or her own message. Be creative with your postcards and not limit yourself to just the pictures. Have your child color a small picture for the grandparents or add some holiday glitter. Another idea is to use cloth to create your own postcards. Start stamping, painting, adding other fabrics, beads, yarn, hand or machine sewing. Whatever you think you need to create a wonderful postcard. The ideas are limitless in creating your own postcards so stretch your imagination and makes someone’s day special.

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of Post Card. Share your new understanding about Post Card with others. They’ll thank you for it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this great product..
- Do you want to make Your PDF files viral? Use This Secret Viral PDF Rebrander: Viral PDF