These are some of our earliest post cards and they bring up a unique period of postcard history. When we think of postcards, it’s generally a small heavy-stock rectangle with a photo image on the front, and space on the back for you to write “Hello Mom, Sorry I haven’t written. I’m too busy visiting all these historic theatres!”

In the earliest days of postcard production, it went against postal codes to write on the address side of a card. Private postcard manufacturers began designing their cards with blank spaces to allow for brief messages. This period is known amongst Deltiologists as the “Undivided Back Period.” 

For more information on the surprisingly contentious and legislated history of postcards, visit the Smithsonian Institute Archive’s Postcard History page.

(credit: American Theatre Architecture Archive, Theatre Historical Society of America)