The first holiday postcard was printed in London in 1843. Holiday postcards were sent by the millions in the early 1900s. Popular themes were idealised rural scenes and women claiming their rights by directing where to put mistletoe. Their use diminished in favor of Christmas cards around 1909. The reason? Tariffs on German goods. The best cards with the highest quality printing came from Germany. However, in 1919, many were still sending postcards and a household would have a carefully preserved collection of postcards in a treasure box or album. During the holidays, they were displayed in the home.

Big hat and woman wielding mistletoe (in France). In the 1900s, European women were taking charge of their own lives.

The cards below were owned by my Aunt Lois and came from a box holding postcards and clippings marked from 1915-1927. None of them have dates on them but we can assume they are from around 100 years ago. The postal rate on each is a penny. The use of holiday postcards in which the stamp was one cent was prior to 1917. Click here for postal rates.

A snowy scene and an ode to the fir tree is shown below.

The idea of progress was big 100 years ago…always moving forward, each year better than the last, is hinted at in this card.

The simplicity of the split rail fence is reminiscent of early settlers–how very postcard!

The percentage of regular church goers, who might have sent a card like the one below,  was about the same 100 years ago as today, slightly lower than 40% of the US population.

Once again, evergreens and country=holiday wishes.

Here’s a card in Dutch. It says Jesus Christ yesterday and today the same forever.

Because they were mass produced, old postcard aren’t worth much, between $1-20 each at best.  Believe it or not, I got a holiday postcard this year from my niece. Could they be making a come back?

Click here for many more cards.