What is inside matters most
Before anything else, look through the album page by page without removing cards. Note roughly:
- How many cards it holds. Count one page and multiply.
- How many are real photographs. Smooth gray or sepia images with no printing dots. These usually carry most of the value.
- Where they are from. Mostly one town, county or state? A focused album can be worth more than the same number of scattered cards.
- Holiday cards, especially Halloween.
- Topics: depots, trains, early cars, workers, disasters, fairs.
- Condition: water damage, mold, loose pages, cards glued down.
That quick survey tells you more than any rule of thumb.
Kinds of albums you might find
Slip-in albums from the golden age. The most common kind: heavy pages with slots or cut corners holding two to six cards per side, often with an embossed or decorated cover. Many were assembled between about 1905 and 1915.
Scrapbooks with glued cards. Cards pasted or glued onto pages. These are harder to sell card by card, and the glue lowers individual card value, but the cards can still be interesting and are best valued in place.
Photo-corner albums. Cards held by paper corners on black or gray pages, common later in the century.
Dealer and collector albums. Modern binders with clear sleeves, usually assembled by a serious collector. These are often well organized and in good condition.
Why the cards should stay where they are
- Damage. Old glue, tight slots and brittle corners mean cards tear easily when pulled.
- Context. The order of an album often tells a story: a family's travels, a hometown, a lifetime of saved greetings. Collectors value that.
- Judgment. The cards people pull out because they look best are rarely the valuable ones. Removing them lowers the value of everything left.
A buyer can value an album perfectly well with every card in place.
Is the album itself worth anything?
Usually only a little. Fine Victorian and Edwardian albums with ornate covers, intact clasps and good bindings have some decorative value, but it is small next to the cards inside. A damaged or empty album is generally worth very little.
Edwardian and early 1900s albums
In Britain, albums from this period are often called Edwardian albums, after King Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910. American albums from the same years look much the same. Albums from this period are the ones most likely to hold real photo postcards and early holiday cards, so they deserve a careful look.
How I value an album
I look at the photos you send, page by page, and estimate how many cards fall into each group: real photos, better printed views, holiday cards, topicals and common cards. Then I give one figure for the whole album, with a note on what drove it. Several albums are valued together as one collection.
Several albums, or albums plus boxes
Many collections arrive as a mix: two or three albums, a shoebox of loose cards and an envelope or two of favorites. Treat it all as one collection. Photograph each album closed, a few pages from each opened flat, and the loose cards spread out, and describe the whole thing together. I quote it as one collection, which is fairer than valuing each piece in isolation, since the strong cards in one album help carry the common cards in another.
If you are handling an estate
Postcard albums are often among the last things anyone thinks about when clearing a house, and among the easiest to undervalue. If an estate sale company is involved, ask them to set the albums aside until you have had them looked at separately. A buyer who knows postcards may pay far more than the albums would bring priced by the box. The inherited collections page covers the rest of the process.
Photographing an album for a quote
Shoot the closed album first so the cover and size are clear. Then open it to three or four pages chosen at random, not just the best ones, and photograph each spread straight down in daylight with the flash off. Finally, photograph any real photos or holiday cards you noticed, in place on the page. If the album has loose cards tucked in the back, spread a handful out and include a picture of those too. That set of photos is usually enough for a fair quote on the whole album.
Albums with notes and captions
Some collectors wrote captions under each card, or kept a list of where and when cards were received. Those notes add context and sometimes identify views that have no printed caption. Leave them exactly as they are, and mention them when you describe the album; they are part of what makes a family collection interesting.
Questions people ask
What is a postcard album worth?
Anywhere from a modest amount for an album of common cards to a good deal more for one full of real photos and early holiday cards. The cards decide it.
Should I take the postcards out of the album to sell them?
No. Leave them in place, whether you sell the album whole or not.
Can I sell the album and keep some of the cards?
My offers are for complete collections as they are, so I quote the album with every card in it.
What if the album is falling apart?
Keep the loose pages and cards together in order, in a box, and photograph them as they are. Do not repair anything with tape or glue.
Sources and further reading
- Library of Congress: care, handling and storage of works on paper
- Library of Congress: care, handling and storage of photographs
Ready to sell? Compare where to sell old postcards, or see how to sell old postcards step by step.