A
Advertising card. A postcard issued by a business to promote itself or its products, often with its name and address printed on the back.
Album. A book for holding postcards, usually with slots, corners or sleeves. Albums from about 1905 to 1915 are common finds. See postcard album value.
Artist-signed. A card whose design carries the illustrator's signature, such as Ellen Clapsaddle or Frances Brundage.
AZO. The most common photo paper brand found in the stamp box of American real photo postcards. Its corner marks help date a card. See stamp box dating.
B to C
Big letter (large letter). A card spelling out a place name in large letters, each filled with local scenes. Common in the linen era.
Bird's-eye view. A view of a town from above, often taken from a church steeple, water tower or hill.
Cancel. The postmark applied to a stamp to prevent reuse; often used to mean the postmark generally.
Chrome. A glossy, photographic color postcard, from about 1939 onward. See chrome postcards.
Chromolithography. A color printing process using separate stones or plates for each color, used for the finest early cards.
Comic. A humorous postcard; many were made in every era.
Continental size. The larger, roughly 4 by 6 inch format of many later chrome cards.
D to E
Deltiology. The study and collecting of postcards. A collector is a deltiologist. See deltiology.
Die-cut. A card cut into a shape other than a rectangle, or with cut-out sections.
Divided back. A card whose address side is split by a line, message on the left, address on the right. U.S. cards from March 1, 1907 onward. See divided and undivided backs.
DPO. Discontinued post office; collectors of postmarks seek cancels from offices that have closed.
Embossed. Pressed so that parts of the design stand up in relief. Typical of fine early greeting cards.
Exaggeration card. A trick photograph showing giant vegetables, fish or animals, popular in the early 1900s, especially in the Midwest.
Exposition card. A card issued for a world's fair or exposition, such as Chicago in 1893, St. Louis in 1904 or San Francisco in 1915.
F to H
Foxing. Brown spots caused by age, humidity or impurities in paper.
Full bleed. A picture running to the edges of the card with no border.
Greeting card. A postcard for a holiday or occasion, such as Christmas, Easter or a birthday.
Hold-to-light (HTL). A card with cut or translucent sections that glow when held up to a light.
I to L
Interurban. An electric railway connecting towns, common in the early 1900s. Cards of interurbans are popular with transportation collectors.
Linen. A card printed on stock with a textured, cloth-like surface, from about 1930 to the early 1950s. See linen postcards.
Lot. A group of cards sold together, often common cards grouped by state or topic.
M to P
Mechanical. A card with moving parts, such as a wheel, tab or flap.
Novelty card. A card made of an unusual material or with an unusual construction: leather, wood, aluminum, silk, feathers, glitter and so on. See leather postcards.
Postally used. Mailed, with a stamp and postmark. Unused cards were never mailed. See used vs unused.
Private Mailing Card (PMC). A privately printed card from about 1898 to 1901, required to carry those words on the back.
Publisher. The company that issued the card, often named on the back with a series number.
R to S
RPPC (real photo postcard). An actual photograph printed on photo paper with a postcard back. The most collected American cards. See real photo postcards.
Series number. A number printed on the back by the publisher, used to identify and sometimes date a card.
Silk. A card with an embroidered or woven silk panel, especially World War I embroidered silks. See military postcards.
Silvering. A metallic sheen in the dark areas of old silver-based photographs.
Stamp box. The printed rectangle where the stamp goes. On real photos, it often names the photo paper maker.
T to W
Topical. A card collected for its subject rather than its place, such as trains, occupations or Halloween. See topicals.
Undivided back. A card whose address side has room only for the address, with messages on the front. U.S. cards before March 1, 1907.
View card. A card showing a place: a street, building, landmark or landscape.
White border. A printed card with a white frame around the picture, typical of about 1915 to 1930.
Condition terms
Mint, near mint, excellent, very good, good, fair, poor. The usual scale of condition grades. See condition and grading.
Corner wear, crease, stain, toning, album residue, trimmed. The common faults collectors describe.
A few more terms
Composite. A card made by combining several photographs or images, common in exaggeration cards and some greetings.
Folder. A fold-out strip of small views sold as a souvenir, popular in the linen and chrome eras.
Photochrome. A process producing color images from black and white photographs, used for some early colored view cards.
Puzzle card. A card cut into puzzle pieces, sometimes sold in an envelope.
Signed. Can refer either to an artist's signature in the design or a photographer's name on a real photo card.
Questions people ask
What does RPPC stand for?
Real photo postcard.
What is a postcard collector called?
A deltiologist.
What does HTL mean on a postcard listing?
Hold-to-light.
What does DPO mean?
Discontinued post office, a term from postmark collecting.
What does "unused" mean?
Never mailed: no stamp, postmark or address.
Using these terms when you sell
You do not need any of this vocabulary to sell a collection to me. Plain words work perfectly: "mostly black and white photos of small towns", "some old Halloween cards", "the backs have no line down the middle". But if you are listing cards yourself, using the right terms in titles and descriptions, especially RPPC, the town and state, and the subject, helps collectors find them.
Sources and further reading
- Playle's: how to identify and date real photo postcards
- U.S. Postal Service: rates for stamped cards and postcards since 1873
Ready to sell? Compare where to sell old postcards, or see how to sell old postcards step by step.