Real photo postcard
Encyclopedia
In 1903 Kodak introduced the No. 3A Folding Pocket Kodak. The camera, designed for postcard-size film, allowed the general public to take photographs and have them printed on postcard
backs. They are usually the same size as standard vintage postcard
s (3-1/2" x 5-1/2"). Also known by the acronym "RPPC".
Kodak's 3A camera pioneered in its use of postcard-size film but was not the only one to make Real Photo postcards. Many other cameras were used, some of which used old-fashioned glass plates that required cropping the image to fit the postcard format.
According to this site, Kodak "created a service called “Real Photo postcards,” enabling people to make a postcard from any picture they took" in 1907.
While Kodak was certainly the major promoter of photo postcard production, they didn't seem to originate the term "Real Photo," and used it less frequently than photographers and others in the marketplace from 1903 to ca. 1930. But it has become the popular term nowadays to distinguish photographic postcards from commercially printed, mass-produced postcards of the same era.
Old House Journal states "Beginning in 1902 Kodak offered a preprinted card back that allowed postcards to be made directly from negatives." Regardless of when the year, this "technology" allowed photographers to travel from town to town and document life in the places they visited. Old House Journal continues: "Local entrepreneurs hired them to record area events and the homes of prominent citizens. These postcards documented important buildings and sites, as well as parades, fires, and floods. Realtors used them to sell new housing by writing descriptions and prices on the back. Real Photo postcards became expressions of pride in home and community, and were also sold as souvenirs in local drug stores and stationery shops."
Real Photo postcards may or may not have a white border, or a divided back, or other features of postcards, depending on the paper the photographer used. Many current Real Photo postcards are reproductions of earlier historic photos. Want to know if it is authentic or a reproduction: look at it under a magnifying glass. If it is authentic "it will show smooth transitions from one tone to another." According to the 2Buds, the way to tell is, while looking under the magnifying glass notice that "Postcards that are NOT Real Photos are made up of many small dots. If you look at a Real Photo postcard, the image is solid (no dots)."
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
backs. They are usually the same size as standard vintage postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s (3-1/2" x 5-1/2"). Also known by the acronym "RPPC".
Kodak's 3A camera pioneered in its use of postcard-size film but was not the only one to make Real Photo postcards. Many other cameras were used, some of which used old-fashioned glass plates that required cropping the image to fit the postcard format.
According to this site, Kodak "created a service called “Real Photo postcards,” enabling people to make a postcard from any picture they took" in 1907.
While Kodak was certainly the major promoter of photo postcard production, they didn't seem to originate the term "Real Photo," and used it less frequently than photographers and others in the marketplace from 1903 to ca. 1930. But it has become the popular term nowadays to distinguish photographic postcards from commercially printed, mass-produced postcards of the same era.
Old House Journal states "Beginning in 1902 Kodak offered a preprinted card back that allowed postcards to be made directly from negatives." Regardless of when the year, this "technology" allowed photographers to travel from town to town and document life in the places they visited. Old House Journal continues: "Local entrepreneurs hired them to record area events and the homes of prominent citizens. These postcards documented important buildings and sites, as well as parades, fires, and floods. Realtors used them to sell new housing by writing descriptions and prices on the back. Real Photo postcards became expressions of pride in home and community, and were also sold as souvenirs in local drug stores and stationery shops."
Real Photo postcards may or may not have a white border, or a divided back, or other features of postcards, depending on the paper the photographer used. Many current Real Photo postcards are reproductions of earlier historic photos. Want to know if it is authentic or a reproduction: look at it under a magnifying glass. If it is authentic "it will show smooth transitions from one tone to another." According to the 2Buds, the way to tell is, while looking under the magnifying glass notice that "Postcards that are NOT Real Photos are made up of many small dots. If you look at a Real Photo postcard, the image is solid (no dots)."
External links
- Ampersand Vintage
- nurse-entrepreneur-network Real Photo Postcards (introduction)
- The 2 Buds Dating Real Photo Postcards
- Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes - site helps you identify when your postcard was produced based on the stamp boxes
- Gallery of Real Photo Postcards at The Morning NewsThe Morning News (online magazine)The Morning News is a U.S.-based daily online magazine founded in 1999 by Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack. It began as an email newsletter and in the fall of 2000 evolved into a news-oriented weblog with a New York focus...
- Growing Inventory of Vintage Real Photo Postcards