I've been fond of postcard collecting for quite a few years now. I reluctantly accompanied PJ to a stamp collector's show once, and to alleviate what I expected to be utter tedium, I started browsing through the boxes of ancient postcards. I stumbled across a few cards from my home town, and was instantly hooked. Since my initial forays, I've discovered a few things about the history of postcards and the history of Ontario too.

What is typically referred to as the "Golden Age" of postcards is the period from 1900 to 1920 or so. The sheer variety and quantity of postcards from this era is mind boggling. When you look back to the Golden Age every small town had several cards. You can find cards with local schools and churches, monuments, places of business and tourist attractions. Postcards were also a popular means of communication. The notes are sometimes droll, and sometimes amusing. No matter the content, postcards traveled quickly. It's not uncommon to see a postmark at the point of origin with another postmark for the destination on the next day. Postcards were the cheapest and most effective method to deliver a message before the telephone became ubiquitous. The Golden Age of Postcards passed with the mass acceptance of Mr. Bell's invention.

Postcards from yesteryear are a little different. Some postcards are black and white photographs, while others have been coloured by hand. There are a few doubles in the gallery to show you a bit of the variety. The cards will vary significantly from one to the next even though they are based on the same photo. A few postcards are wonderful miniature paintings of a scene. Other cards have frames and decorative borders that were referred to as "Patriotic" cards. Look for the cards with flags and maple leaves. There are a few that were printed and mounted with an embossed frame.

Postcards are always a joy to receive, and offer a brief glimpse at a place you may or may not ever visit. They're typically images made by professional photographers, so you know you're getting a well composed picture. If you're not so good with a camera yourself, for a few dollars, ( or euros, or pesos etc) you can still get a stack of nice pictures to commemorate your holiday. The added element of time makes these simple bits of ephemera historical documents, and a pleasure to collect. I hope you enjoy the images.