How businesses used postcards
In the early twentieth century, a postcard was a cheap, effective way for a business to reach customers. A shop could order a few hundred cards showing its storefront and mail them to local households. A manufacturer could produce colorful cards of its product for dealers to hand out. A traveling salesman could mail a card announcing his next visit. Hotels, restaurants, resorts and railroads used cards to promote themselves to travelers.
Because many of these cards were ordered by a single business in a small run, they survive in far fewer copies than tourist views, and some are known in only a handful of examples.
Kinds of advertising postcards
Storefronts and interiors. Real photo or printed views of a specific shop, often with the owner and staff in front and merchandise in the window. These appeal to collectors of the town as well as advertising collectors.
Product cards. Colorful designs promoting a product: farm machinery, stoves, sewing machines, paints, seeds, foods, beverages, tobacco and patent medicines.
Dealer imprints. A manufacturer's card with a local dealer's name and address printed on the back or in a margin, tying a national product to a particular town.
Hotels, restaurants and resorts. Cards issued by the business itself, often with rates, amenities or directions on the back.
Service businesses. Insurance agents, banks, photographers, undertakers and others.
Mid-century advertising. Linen and chrome cards for motels, restaurants, car dealers and roadside attractions. See mid-century postcards.
What makes an advertising card more valuable
- Local and specific. A named shop in a small town, especially with people and signage.
- Real photo storefronts and interiors.
- Strong brand followings. Some product categories and brands have dedicated collectors who seek every piece of related advertising.
- Attractive or unusual designs, including mechanical and die-cut advertising cards.
- Printed sales messages that name the business and town.
- Condition.
Advertising on the back of ordinary views
Many advertising cards look ordinary from the front: a town view or a scenic card. Turn them over and the back carries a printed message from a local merchant: a sale announcement, a reminder of an upcoming visit, or a note about new stock. These private-printed backs tie a common view to a specific business, and they can turn an ordinary card into an interesting one. Always check the backs.
Common advertising cards
National products printed in very large runs, generic hotel cards from big chains, and later mass-produced chrome cards for large businesses are more common and modest in value.
Advertising cards in a collection
Advertising cards are often scattered through family collections, especially from families who ran a business, farmed (and received implement and seed cards), or traveled for work. When I look at a collection, storefronts and printed advertising backs get a careful look.
Mechanical and die-cut advertising
Some advertisers went further than a printed card: die-cut cards shaped like a product, cards with pull tabs or wheels, and cards with attached samples or fabric swatches. These novelty advertising cards were more expensive to produce, survive in smaller numbers and are popular with both advertising and novelty collectors.
Questions people ask
Are old advertising postcards valuable?
Many are worth several dollars to tens of dollars; local storefronts and cards for brands with strong followings can be worth more.
What is a dealer imprint?
A manufacturer's card printed with a local dealer's name and address.
Are hotel postcards valuable?
Most big-city hotel cards are common; small-town hotels and real photo views are more interesting.
Should I check the backs of my postcards for advertising?
Yes. A printed message from a local business can make an ordinary view much more interesting.
Do you buy advertising postcards?
Yes, as part of a complete collection.
Farm and rural advertising
Rural families received a steady stream of advertising cards from implement dealers, seed companies, cream separator makers, windmill manufacturers and feed suppliers. These cards often feature colorful illustrations of farm machinery or idealized farm scenes, with the local dealer's name stamped or printed on the back. Collectors of farm history and of particular equipment brands seek them out, and they are a common and welcome find in farm family albums.
Patent medicines and household products
Patent medicine makers were enthusiastic advertisers, and their postcards, often humorous or boldly illustrated, are collected for their graphics and for what they show about early marketing. Cards for stoves, sewing machines, soap, flour and coffee follow similar patterns. Attractive designs and brands with collector followings stand out.
The storefront real photo
The most valuable advertising cards are often not designed as advertising at all: they are real photo postcards a shopkeeper had made of the store, sometimes with staff lined up out front. These were given to customers and mailed to family. They combine local history, business history and real photography in one card, and collectors of the town and the trade compete for them.
Researching an advertising card
A business name and town on an advertising card is an invitation to research. City directories, newspapers and local historical societies can often tell you when a shop opened and closed, which helps date the card. Collectors enjoy this detective work, and a well-identified card is a more appealing one.
Photographing advertising cards for a quote
Photograph both sides of any card with a printed business message or a named storefront. A readable back is often the detail that matters most.
Are bank and insurance advertising postcards collectible? Some are, particularly from small towns and with attractive designs or real photo views of the building.
Ready to sell? Compare where to sell old postcards, or see how to sell old postcards step by step.