Postcards

History of Postcards

The world’s first postcard, known as the Correspondenz-Karte, was issued by the Austrian Postal Authority on 1 October 1869. It consisted of a blank, light-brown card measuring 8.5 × 12 cm. The format was strictly regulated: one side was reserved for a brief written message, while the reverse included the recipient’s address, sender’s details, and an imprinted postage stamp. Postcards were a cost-effective alternative to letters, as their standardised size, lighter weight, and lack of an envelope reduced postage costs.

The format of the Correspondenz-Karte was adopted by many European postal services over the next two years and soon spread globally, with Canada, United States, the Ottoman Empire and Egypt among the early adopters. Its widespread use was driven by affordability, improvements in printing technology, and demand for rapid communication.

In Australia, the first government-issued postal cards were introduced progressively by the colonies: New South Wales (1875), Victoria (1876), South Australia (1877), Western Australia (1879), Queensland (1880), and Tasmania (1882). These cards were subject to similar regulations as the Correspondenz-Karte. The front was reserved for the recipient’s address, postage, and official postal markings, while written correspondence was only permitted on the reverse.

In 1895, the Victorian Government authorised the use of privately printed postcards under specific conditions:

“ … they must be made of ordinary cardboard not thicker than the material used for the official postcard, and measure not less than l inch x 3 inch nor more than 5 ¼ x 3 ¼ inches, and that there be nothing affixed, written, or otherwise impressed on the front thereof except the address and stamps in payment of postage. On the reverse side any communication may be written or printed but nothing whatever can be attached except adhesive stamps in payment of stamp duty”. (Australia Post)

Australia’s first picture postcard is believed to have been produced in 1894 for the International Exhibition in Tasmania.

Postal regulations changed in December 1904 to permit the ‘divided back’ format. This design introduced a vertical line on the reverse of the card, separating the space for correspondence (left) and the address (right). This innovation allowed the front of the postcard to feature a full-sized image.

Postcards became an important form of communication in the early twentieth century. The period from approximately 1905 to 1915 is often referred to as the ‘golden age of postcards’, during which billions of postcards were sent worldwide. Their popularity was supported by developments in lithography and photography, increased literacy resulting from compulsory education, and growing domestic travel enabled by railways, motor vehicles, and paid holidays. Postcards were inexpensive, widely available, and easily distributed.

Beyond their practical use, postcards served as a means of sharing visual culture. At a time when newspapers contained few illustrations, postcards enabled the circulation of images depicting landscapes, events, people, and artworks.

These illustrated cards functioned as an early form of social media. With multiple daily postal deliveries in many areas, people used them to share brief updates, arrange social engagements, and communicate everyday activities.

Following World War I, the expansion of telephone networks provided faster and more direct communication and postcards became colloquially known as the "poor man’s telephone". The rise of other visual media also contributed to the decline in use of the postcard.

Postcards are a valuable historical source, providing both a visual record and a social record.

The front of the postcard can capture the natural landscape; fashion; transport; civic achievement through images of public buildings, parks, libraries and theatres; or urban design centred on the ‘Main Street’. The unedited, casual messages on the back of the postcard provide an authentic insight into the daily activities of the people which otherwise may have been lost to history.