Dates and Dating Postcards
- 1901 – Post Card – On December 24th, the U.S. Government allowed the use of the words “Post Card” or “Postcard” to be printed on the undivided back of privately printed cards.
- 1907 – Divided Back – Postcards with a divided back were finally permitted on March 1, 1907. 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.
- 1915-1930 – White Border Era
- 1930-1945 – Linen Era
- 1939 - Chromes and Photochrome – A new type of photographic production process called “Photochrome” first appeared on postcards.They were known as “chromes”.
After the war Mike Roberts led the way with “WESTCO” cards soon to be followed by such firms as:
- Dexter Press of Nyack
- New York
- Plastichrome Company of Boston.
- 1942 – KODACOLOR Film for prints first introduced.
- 1946 – Kodak marketed EKTACHROME Transparency Sheet Film
- 1951 – The three-digit area code began on November 10, 1951.
- 1960+ By 1960 the standard size enlarged to 4 x 6.
- 1963 – The use of five-digit Zip codes began in July of 1963.