Vintage Postcards: Postcard Blog

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We were asked this week to appraise an interesting lot of old postcards. They had been stolen from an insurance company’s client, and then discarded by the thief along a busy road in rainy conditions. Sadly, all of the postcards were ruined and sustained the same type of damage: gritty soiling, heavy surface pockmarking and, in some instances, paper weakness and separation. This was due to the combination of having been exposed to the elements and additionally run over by automobiles. While many of the antique postcards were unremarkable, there were two notable exceptions. The postcard seen above is a highly collectible Samuel Schmucker Halloween postcard, showing 13 white-robed children carrying 13 pumpkins and offering “Halloween Greetings.”

The other interesting vintage postcard was published by noted publisher Raphael Tuck & Sons of London, England. The antique postcard, from his “Crocodile Bait” series, depicts “Seaside Coons” consisting of eight stereotyped black children at the beach. The circumstances of the appraisal were unusual, and serve as a reminder to get your postcards appraised and keep them secured. Sadly, it only takes a moment for them to be rendered worthless.

Learn about the Civil Rights movement as seen in vintage postcards, or see more black Americana and Halloween postcards.

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