A telephone call today is equivalent to the postcard of the early twentieth century. Postcards were used to convey everyday messages. This occurred not only in large cities, but also in small towns, such as Beverly where people communicated primarily with postcards. A scribbled message was worth a thousand words, as a whisper is worth just as many interpretations.

In one such postcard dated 1942, questions arise as to what was really meant by the author’s quick message, “Will see you in about 1 week for Easter. Hope your mother is well. Are you satisfied with the way you are treating me?” followed by a “kind regards to all”? [1] There appears to be evidence of irony in this conversation. We only catch a glimpse into their world, and find ourselves being detectives, trying to uncover the mystery of their lives. Is there a deeper meaning? Perhaps a secret code derived by friends or lovers, to prevent strangers from unrevealing the hidden message within the lines? Yet our first impulse would be to ask who would go through all that trouble to scribble this onto a postcard, when wouldn’t it be more private to speak of such matters in person? However, whoever wrote this message was without the luxury of a telephone.

The backs of these sometimes-plain postcards carried messages, whose real meanings may have remained a mystery to all except those whose eyes were meant to read them. Their words ranged from boring, ordinary how-do-you-dos to exciting, life altering news, worth the attention of the maids. One friend wrote to another in Boston, “Dear Isie- I Am in Salem at present, but Billy Taft wants me to visit him next. Don’t you wish you knew him too? Be good and have a handsome time.” [2] However, messages as such were not so common. The usual message asked the recipient how they were, what they have been doing, and then told a brief description of their present life, nothing out of the ordinary, for the most part.

Punctuation, grammar, and spelling were paid less attention to, as postcards became more and more popular. People began to favor a less formal message system, rather than one of stiff letter writing, especially by the younger generations, who did not quite know how to follow the strict regulations of the proper form and etiquette of a formal letter. [3] It became acceptable, and almost appropriate to converse using this simple way of communication. “Your photo received ok. We think it very good intended to see you before this but will some time soon.” [4] A quickly scribbled message, not restricted by punctuation or clear thought; an acceptable postcard in 1911.

Communication by postcards was not always so simple. When first introduced, the postcard was used more frequently as an advertising tool, rather than a communication device, and followed many strict rules related to size, form, and dynamics. Prior to March 1st 1907, the postal law stated that no words other than the address were to be written on the back of postcards. However, society was much too eager to be restricted by this limitation, and did not dawdle in their want for change. They insisted on using the space intended for the lovely picture on the front, as their letterhead. This appears to answer the question of why any postcard found before 1907 has no split back, and why words are often scribbled across Beverly’s scenic treasures. [5] This also explains why some postcards contain no words, but are simply mailed to a friend, for the benefit of the card, to add to one’s collection.

To classify postcards into systematic time slots, there are more than merely dates, which are capable of this task. The language, for instance, used during the turn of the century, was more carefully laid out and enunciated, than the diction of individuals during the mid-century. [6] A postal written in 1909 reads: “Perhaps we won’t see you as we are at Pres. Taft’s home for the day.” [7] It’s language flows elegantly, like a poem. A look at a more recent postcard shows the change of cultural ethnicity, written to a friend between the late 1970’s to the early 1990’s. “Hey Erin what’s up! Im having fun down here just chilling in the sun maxing. The beaches are gorgeous around the area you should come down and see. Well. By yours truly DEL.H” [8]

It is sometimes hard to decipher what a person wrote one hundred years ago. [9] A slang word, which may have been everyday then, is now a complete mystery today. The cursive of today has strayed away from the Old English language of a few hundreds of years ago; however, it was still visible during the early twentieth century, especially how a capital ” F ” or “J ” was strung. A jumble of letters to us, formed a word to them, or perhaps an abbreviation, which is no longer used.

The telephone is the center of our universe, connecting millions of people from all corners of the planet. We communicate, taking this luxury for granted. When the postcard was first introduced, people’s thoughts could be passed from one to another without leaving one’s home. Just as we do, they took this new communication for granted, as theirs words were like the voice we now hear on the other end of the telephone, or even more recently, the pop-up chat box online.

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Sources:

From various Beverly Public Library postcards

Next chapter: Postcard publishers

The dynamics of postcards have evolved greatly over time, changing their overall look. There are some postcards that look much different then those from the time of their creation. The sizes, shapes materials, and the overall set up have all varied over time. Some of these changes affected Beverly Massachusetts, while others didn’t. Beverly had its own dynamics of postcards as many other places did.

Postcards as you may already know are not very large. They have always been rather small since their creation. Early on in the life span of the postcard there was a standard size widely used in the United States of 3 ½ inches by 5 ½ inches. Almost as large as the majority of modern cards which are approximately 4 inches by 6 inches. Beverly, on the other hand, had it’s own unique size, 3 ½ inches by 6 ½, for postcards from the earliest to the most recent. Not all postcards have to follow these size restrictions, and there are many exceptions to these rules, but for the most part these are the sizes of postcards.

There are many differences on the front and back of the Beverly postcards. One thing that was always the same on the back of the postcard was the area for the stamp in the top right hand corner. It remained in this spot throughout all the changes and remains the same to this day. The earlier cards used the entire back of the card only for the address only, reading “This Side For Address Only“. To compensate for this lack of room to write on the back, the majority of these postcards had an area to write on the front, this area was blank could be found on any edge of the card. These cards could be of anything such as the United Shoe. Some, however, did not have any space to write which left people scribbling over the picture, or writing in the empty sky. As time went on the law restricting writing on the backs of postcards was lifted and a new appearance of the back was introduced. This new appearance had a line splitting the left and right sides so that the right side could be used for the address and the left for the message. After this happened the percent of cards with a space on the front dropped greatly. A rather small number of cards had lines or the address, the non-divided had the least percent, but it seemed that more of the more recent, divided back cards had them.

Older postcards had no color when the photo was originally taken. The only way to have color postcards was to ship them overseas and have them colorized. For this reason, many were just left black and white or an odd shade of brown. The ones that did have color seemed rather phony, and the color schemes were unrealistic such as this picture of president Taft’s summerhouse. Many don’t just look unrealistic but they look almost hand drawn. They are of streets in Beverly and other places of interest such as the rose garden or post office. The more modern cards can be, and are taken in color. There are a few that are black and white, maybe to give a more authentic look. The most recent cards have the best color and have views that were not obtainable at earlier times. This comes with the invention of the helicopter. There are many pictures of the waterfront.

The outside world had many things in postcards that Beverly did not. All of the Beverly cards are made out of a stiff piece of thick paper. This was the same for most cards but there are some cards out there made from birch bark and other strange materials. There are also many textured cards, which Beverly is missing. Linens for example weren’t really that uncommon but Beverly had none. One type of card that Beverly did have are chromes, which simply have a very glossy look to the front of the card. All of the Beverly cards are in the 3 ½ by 6-½ inch norm, but the rest of the world did not stay in any boundaries and as a result many abstract cards have been made. Beverly is also missing of these abstract postcards. Beverly was rather conservative with their postcards, showing very little creativity other than the pictures used. The photographer or artist is the only one who made any attempt to change the dynamics of the postcard.

Beverly had its own unique design of postcards that no other place had by its subtle differences. The size and lack of abstract ideas and other variations in the dynamics make these postcards original. While the world was doing one thing Beverly was doing the same thing in its own unique little way. and other spots that can easily catch a person’s eye.

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Sources

Collins, C “Interesting Facts about our Postcards” Hobbies, July 1952, 150-152

Staff, Frank.The Picture Postcard and Its Origins. New York: Frederick A Praeger, 1966

 

Next chapter: What was written on the back

Colorization is the process that is used in postcards in which the photograph on the front of the postcard is sent to other countries to enliven the photograph with color, making it more attractive to the consumer. Before postcards were printed in color, greeting cards for certain holidays such as Christmas and Easter were colorized. The first firm for color manufacturing was in Leith, Germany. Called “Lundy”, they were the first ones to start printing business messages in color. Soon, color was what people liked most about postcards. Although the first postcard was published on 1869 in Germany, it was not until 1893 that the photos on the postcards were colorized. The popularity of colorization arose when the postcard act was changed in 1898. It transformed the postcard regulations, the development of postcards and the color was changed to beautify the postcards and make it a more profitable product. After the colorization of postcards the postcards sold in stores became more successful than ever [1]

Publishers often sent their photographs for postcards to India and Italy. These countries specialized in using exotic colors on photographs to catch the eye of the common person. At first this was an ingenious idea, but it caused many problems later. All the postcards were sent to Europe and India because there Lithography was an art. Since the people in India and parts of Europe had never been to Beverly before, when they received the postcards to be colorized they used their artistic imagination. They used lush colors , although the photos were extravagant one could usually see that the colors were not accurate with the photo. Tourists could see a certain photo of a landmark in Beverly and be disappointed because the colors of the original landmark were completely different from the photo.[2] In these two pictures, the first depicts a photograph of the United Shoe on Elliot street in black and white. The second photo depicts the same picture in color, but it is not accurate. Looking at the building the viewer can clearly see that the Shoe was not brick. It is a duplicate of the original picture because the same cars are in the parking lot and the whole scene is exactly the same. Another photo from Beverly that had been colorized numerous times, each time being different colors was William Howard Taft’s summer home in Beverly .There are four pictures that show the same house in all different colors. This shows that in the twentieth century for postcards, people did not care about the authenticity of a photo on a postcard, but only the attractive colors that intrigued the consumer. [3]

The photographs of beaches in Beverly show how colorization could make an ordinary beach look like paradise, even though it was not authentic. There is a colorized picture of Burgess point in Beverly. The other two pictures show Dane street beach. One is in black and white with no people at it and the other is of Dane street colorized and with many people. The pictures show how colorization has a major effect on a picture.[4][5][6]. The two photos of the Cabot house show that the colorization helps make the landmarks in Beverly look more attractive , so more tourists will flock to Beverly and anywhere else that colorization was used . The more color that was used the more people were attracted to the place on the photo.[7].

Today when postcard collectors and historians are looking at pictures of Beverly they prefer the photos that are in black and white. They find them more genuine and Precise. The colorized postcards are useless when trying to find a historical landmark. In the twentieth century colorized postcards were a fad, but today there is a certain nostalgia for postcard that is in black and white. The colors that once seemed remarkable and beautiful are now unreliable and artificial.

Next chapter: Dynamics of Postcards in Beverly