PIONEER ERA (1889-1898)
This era began when vendors and exhibitors at the French Exposition in France (1889) started selling picture postcards. They gained popularity and helped keep postcards in circulation. They are fairly scarce and have combinations of the following distinctions:

- Undivided backs
- Do not say "Authorized by Act of Congress" in byline
- If American, they have a Grant or Jefferson head stamp
- Most are multiple view cards
- Postage rate, if listed, will be 2 cents.
- It is usually called Mail Card or Souvenir Card
- Mostly used in larger Eastern cities

PRIVATE MAILING CARD ERA (1898-1901)
As of May 19, 1898, government gave private printers permission to both sell and print postcards inscribed with the words "Private Mailing Card." (Abbreviated today as PMCs). Many Pioneer Era cards were reprinted as PMCs. Postcards of this era have undivided backs. During this period around 1900, Real Photo postcards (RPs, postcards on film stock: i.e. pictures) began to filter in use. These early real photo images were mainly advertisements.

Note: In 1898 postage required for mailing a postcard was reduced from 2 cents to 1 cent.

UNDIVIDED BACK ERA (1901-1907)
As of December 24, 1901, printers were allowed to use "Post Card" on the backs of their cards. All of these cards had undivided backs (Writing was still not permitted on the address side), forcing people to write messages on the front. For Undivided Back Era postcards, writing on the front is usually acceptable, not usually decreasing the condition grade of these cards.

The publishing of printed postcards during this time doubled almost every six months. European publishers opened offices in the U.S. and imported millions of high-quality postcards. By 1907, European publishers accounted for over 75% of all postcards sold in the U.S. The vogue of lithographed cards caught Eastman-Kodak's attention as well. They issued an affordable "Folding Pocket Kodak" camera around 1906. This allowed the mass public to take black & white photographs and have them printed directly onto paper with postcard backs. Various other models of Kodak "postcard" cameras followed igniting a real photo postcard era. These cameras shared two neat features: their negatives were postcard size (the major reason why so many of these images are so clear) and they had a small thin door at the back that, when lifted, enabled the photographer to write an identifing caption or comment on the negative itself with an attached metal scribe.

Note: At the end of this period in time, the picture postcard hobby became the greatest collectible hobby that the World has ever known. The official figures from the U.S. Post Office for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, cite 677,777,798 postcard mailed. That was at a time when the total population of the U.S. was 88,700,000.

DIVIDED BACK ERA (1907-1915)
As of March 1, 1907, the divided back postcard came into play. They quickly became more popular because they allowed senders to write the address and the message on the back of the card. The address had to be written on the right side of the back of the postcard while the left side was reserved for writing messages. Postcards from this period are most collectible when they do not have writing on their fronts. At this time in American history the postcard hobby became a public addiction. Publishers printed millions of cards in this era. Most postcards were printed in Germany, the world leader in lithographic processes. At the height of the countrywide mania, WWI caused a crash in the hobby. The advent of WWI caused the supply of postcards from Germany to end. Poorer quality postcards came from English and U.S. publishers. The lowered quality of the printed postcard, recurrent influenza epidemics, and WWI war shortages killed the American postcard hobby. During the war years the telephone replaced the postcard as a fast, reliable means to keep in touch.

WHITE BORDER ERA (1915-1930)
When imports from Germany ceased in the first World War, the U.S. began printing postcards to fill the void; unfortunately this also ended the "Golden Age" of postcards. After WWI, the German publishing industry was never rebuilt. Other European publishers were forced out of the U.S. market by high tariff rates. Most locally available postcards were printed by U.S. publishers during this period. On view postcards, to save ink, a white border was left around the view, thus we call them "White Border" postcards. The higher costs of post-war publishing combined with inexperienced labor caused production of poorer quality cards. "Movies" replaced postcards as a visual experience. Higher competition in a rapidly narrowing market caused many publishers to go out of business. Real photo postcard publishers, on the other hand, enjoyed great success. Various types of rotary drum negative imprinters allowed runs of 1000s of postcards of a particular image. Roadside postcard racks contained a great variety of these images.

LINEN ERA (1930-1945)
In the 1930s, postcard printing in the United States improved. Publishers began using linen-like paper with a high rag content. These types of cards are very popular with collectors today, particularly of the Roadside America, Blacks, Comics, and Advertising genres.

New American printing processes allowed printing on postcards with a high rag content. This was a marked improvement over the "White Border" postcard. The rag content also gave these postcards a textured "feel". They were also cheaper to produce and allowed the use of bright dyes for image coloring. They proved to be extremely popular with raodside establishments seeking cheap advertising. Linen postcards document every step along the way of the building of America's highway infra-structure. Most notable among the early linen publishers was the firm of Curt Teich. The majority of linen postcard production ended around 1939 with the advent of the color "chrome" postcard. However, a few linen firms (mainly southern) published until well into the late 50s. Real photo publishers of black & white images continued to have success. Faster reproducing equipment and lowering costs led to an explosion of real photo mass produced postcards. Once again a war interferred with the postcard industry (WWII). During the war, shortages and a need for military personnel forced many postcard companies to reprint older views WHEN printing material was available.

PHOTOCHROME ERA (1939 to present)
Photochromes (also known as Modern Chromes) first came into being in 1939. Their colors were particularly appealing to collectors. The famous movie The Wizard of Oz affirmed America's love for color images. These "Chrome" postcards started to dominate the scene soon after they were launched by the Union Oil Company in their western service stations in 1939. They were easily produced, of high photo quality and most importantly, they were in color. Their spread was momentarily slowed down during WWII due to supply shortages, but they replaced both linen and black & white postcards by 1945 in the roadside postcard racks. Linen firms converted to photochrome postcards or went out of business. Black and white postcard firms merged with larger companies or disappeared.

Note: Because of photochrome's popularity, it is not uncommon to find dealers who specialize only in chromes.

REAL PHOTO POSTCARDS (1900 to present)
Real Photo Postcards were used as early as 1900; they can be particularly difficult to date, unless they have a postmark or a date from the photographer. They must be carefully examined to ensure they are not reproductions.

There is much confusion on what "Real Photo" postcards are and how to identify them. Real Photo postcards are reproduced photographs developed onto photographic paper the size and weight of postcards, with a postcard back. There are many postcards that reproduce photos by various printing methods that are NOT "real photos," but instead are the same methods used to reproduce photos in magazines and newspapers. The best way to tell the difference is to look at the postcard with a magnifying glass. If the photo is printed, you will see that it is made up of a lot of little dots, the same as a photo printed in a newspaper. A "real photo" postcard is solid, no dots.

Note: Most real photo postcards have indentifying marks on the back, usually in the stampbox corner, that identifies the manufacturer of the photographic paper. You can approximate the age of the Real Photo by knowing when the paper manufacturer was in business.

ART DECO ERA (1910 to early '30s)
Art Decos are known for their vibrant colors. Art Deco is usually concerned with things of the past including things done by the ancient Greeks, copies with a twist of Middle Eastern subjects, variations on Egyptian artifacts, a natural extension of Art Nouveau and a whole variety of other influences not so directly related. They often depict pretty ladies in fancy clothes. Also of note are the sharp angles and straight lines. They have gained in popularity over the years and now have a very strong following.

The Art Deco period began around 1900 and ended around 1930. If, in fact, it ever did have an ending. At least, however, this is the period during which the greatest volume of work was produced. What finally killed the movement? Most likely it suffered an untimely death due to the financial crash of 1929, plus a worldwide depression, and then the second World War interrupted any recovery.

ART NOUVEAU (1898-1910) From the last decades of the nineteenth century to the fist decade of the twentieth, Art Nouveau, with its exquisite artistry, enjoyed a reigning popularity (primarily in Paris). They often depict women in a sort of Greek, simplified picture. Not as much lace-more natural-looking than the Art Deco Era. Some of these cards are very valuable, particularly if of one of the more famous artists, such as Mucha, Kirchner, and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Note: One art critic characterized the Art Nouveau style as "a long, sensitive, sinuous line that reminds us of seaweed or of creeping plants."