Why real photo postcards are valued differently
Printed postcards were made by publishers in large runs. Real photo postcards were printed one at a time from a negative, often by a local photographer who made only as many as the town's drugstore expected to sell. Some views exist in a handful of copies. That scarcity, combined with the fact that RPPCs show real places and real people exactly as they were, is why collectors value them so highly.
The value ladder
Think of real photo postcards on a ladder, from least to most valuable:
- Unidentified studio portraits. The most common RPPCs. Usually a dollar to a few dollars, unless the subject is unusual (people in costume, with animals, with a vehicle or a trade).
- Unidentified outdoor scenes. Houses, landscapes, groups of people with no caption. Modest value unless the location can be worked out.
- Identified homes, churches and schools. A caption or recognizable building helps. Modest to moderate value.
- Identified small-town street scenes and depots. Commonly ten to fifty dollars, more with activity and good clarity.
- Occupations, industry and interiors. Mines, mills, lumber camps, shops, offices. Often more than street views.
- Events and disasters. Floods, fires, wrecks, parades, fairs. Strong demand from both local and topical collectors.
- Exceptional rarities. Unusual subjects from tiny places in fine condition. Hundreds of dollars or more.
Five things that change an RPPC's value
Identification. A caption scratched into the negative, a readable sign, or a clear postmark lets a collector place the card. Identified cards are worth far more than anonymous ones.
Place size. A view of a hamlet that had one store and a post office is usually scarcer than a view of a county seat.
Activity. People, horses, wagons, early cars, trains and crowds make a scene a document. Empty streets are the common version.
Clarity. A sharp, well-exposed image with good contrast is worth much more than a faded, blurred or silvered one of the same scene.
Condition. Corners, creases and stains matter. Writing on the back usually does not.
Photographer and paper
Some photographers are collected in their own right, especially those who documented a whole region or a particular industry. A studio stamp on the back, or a recognizable caption style, can add interest. The photo paper maker's mark in the stamp box, such as AZO or VELOX, helps date a card but does not usually add value by itself. See dating real photos by the stamp box.
How to check what a particular RPPC sells for
Search sold listings for the town name plus "RPPC". If the same view has sold before, you have a strong guide. If nothing comes up, the card may be scarce, which can be a good sign, but it also means its value depends on finding the right collector.
RPPCs in a collection
In most collections, real photo postcards make up a minority of the cards and a majority of the value. When I quote a collection, the first thing I look for is how many real photos there are, what they show, and where they are from. Everything else counts too, but the real photos usually decide the number.
That is also why I ask sellers not to pull the real photos out to sell separately. The quote is for the complete collection, and the real photos are a large part of what makes it worth buying whole.
How real photo postcards were made
From about 1903, photo paper was sold with a postcard back already printed on it. A photographer exposed a negative, then printed it directly onto that paper by contact or with an enlarger, developing each card individually. Kodak made the process accessible with folding cameras that produced postcard-sized negatives and with developing services that would print a customer's negatives as postcards. Local studios, traveling photographers and amateurs all made them, and the results ranged from crisp professional views to fuzzy family snapshots.
Because each card was printed individually, runs were often small. A photographer might print a few dozen cards of a main street for the local drugstore, and reprint if they sold. That is why many RPPC views survive in only a handful of copies, and why identifying a card's place and subject matters so much to its value.
Caring for real photo postcards
Photographic surfaces are more fragile than printed ones. Do not touch the image with bare fingers, never try to clean or wipe the surface, and keep cards away from humidity, which can cause curling and mold. Store them upright in a box or flat in an album, out of sunlight. See how to store old postcards.
If you are unsure whether a card is a real photograph, include a photo of it and of its back with your quote request. Identifying real photos is the first thing I check.
Real photo postcards from other countries
Real photo postcards were made all over the world, and many American collections include a few from Canada, Europe or elsewhere. Their values follow the same logic: identified places, activity and scarcity matter most. Foreign real photos are welcome as part of a collection; my focus is on American views, which is where demand is strongest among the collectors I sell to.
Questions people ask
How do I tell if a postcard is a real photo?
Look under magnification for printing dots: real photos have none. See the real photo guide and the identification post.
Are RPPCs of people worth anything?
Studio portraits of unidentified people are common and modest in value. People at work, in costume, with vehicles or animals, or in identified places are more interesting.
Are there fake real photo postcards?
Modern reproductions exist, usually on bright white, slightly too-crisp stock with no age. If a card looks new, it probably is.
What years were real photo postcards made?
Mostly from about 1903 to the 1950s, with the peak before 1930.
Sources and further reading
- Playle's: how to identify and date real photo postcards
- 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.