For a more complete history of postcards, the reader is referred to the many books and Internet sites available on this topic. In particular, the books by Thomas Dilley, listed in the Related Archival Materials note, provide historical information on postcards in general and Grand Rapids cards in particular.

Smithsonian. Chronology of the Picture Postcard. http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/postcard/chronology.htm

When postcards originally came into use, there was a clearer distinction between the mailer or postal card and the souvenir/advertising/picture card. The U.S. Postal Service and postal regulations were and still are a key factor in the success of the use postcards. As postal regulations changed, and as graphic capabilities developed, the mailer card of choice became the illustrated card, for whatever purpose, rather than just the plain cards for just a message and address.

In the beginning, the postal cards with no image were the only ones available for mailing. The use of the message postcard dates in Europe from around 1869, followed shortly thereafter in the U.S. in 1871. John P. Carlton of Philadelphia in 1861, is credited in some sources as obtaining the first copyright for a private postal card, selling the rights later to H.L. Lipman, although the U.S. Postal laws may not have allowed these private cards to be mailed until later.

The souvenir or advertising picture postcard is documented in some sources as first printed in England in 1872, with a multicolor card available in Europe in 1889. Cards of pictures of the Eiffel Tower were in use by 1889/1890. In the U.S., some sources reference the 1873 card from the Inter-State Industrial Exposition of Chicago, as the first illustrated advertising card, though it was probably not available for direct mailing.

From 1898 to 1907 were the early eras of postcard development. Images could be illustrated or based on a real photographic image. European image reproduction technology led the way during this period, with the card then often distributed by a local news vendor or printer. The cards during this time usually had undivided backs. This means that there was the picture on one side, and the address space on the other side, with no dedicated place for the private message. If a message was added it might be written on top of the image, for example, or anywhere on the card. The Golden Age of postcards with the divided backs ranged from 1907 to 1915, and beginning in 1915 a white board began to be used.

Sometimes on the early cards the same image is found reproduced in several ways, as a black and white or color cards. The color cards may be colorized photos rather than actual color photos, with different versions of the same image produced using variants in the shade and tones of color used, and in the supplier as well, from one example to another. In some cases, an actual historical photograph in the GRPL collection, upon which the card is based can be found and matched to the images, with dedicated searching. In other cases, the postcard provides the only unique version of the images, in printed form, rather than an actual photographic format.

In the 21st Century, new services and cards allow the user to add their image and their advertising digitally, to create their own unique card. For a Moving card, for example, the user might provide a picture of their new home, along with the new address notification on their mailer card. Some of these new types of mailer cards are found in the GRPL Archives; for example, in Collection 254 as mailer cards by local realtors advertising a house for sale.

Collection 078, the GRPL Postcard Collection, documents the souvenir or picture postcards with primarily Grand Rapids images, but reflecting the general history of postcard development as it occurred throughout the country. Many of the items in this collection have the original notes and an address on them from their actual use. The cards are often dated from the U.S. Postal mark printed on the card. The messages have their own value in historical collections, but the heavy usage of the cards is usually for the historical images printed on the cards. The card served as an inexpensive way for the original user to send their message and the selection of the image on the card was often the personal choice of the user. Other cards in the collection have just been collected for their images, either casually by individuals perhaps on a vacation trip, or by Deltiologists, those serious collectors who work at building comprehensive collections, including those with items of unique value. Now in the GRPL Archives, these sometimes worn, but generally unused cards, document the visual history of Grand Rapids.

Dates printed on the cards in this collection may be the dates of the objects depicted, rather than the date of the cards production. The postal date is a circa date, and the card could be first released one to several years earlier.

Using the cards in this collection, accumulated for the Grand Rapids Public Library, Ryerson Library Building, for example, may be one way to see representative cards from historical postcard production eras parallel to the historical eras of Grand Rapids own history. The Ryerson Library Building was originally built in 1904, funded by Martin Ryerson of Chicago. A Detroit Photographic Co. card in the collection has a message dated Dec. 29, 1904 and postal stamp date in January of 1905. The back of the card is damaged, but appears to be an undivided back postcard. There are also four other early but undated views which also have undivided backs. Of these four, one is a photo card printed in Germany, called a Raphael Truck & Sons postcard (British), but distributed locally by the Boston store. Another is Leipzig Dresden photo illustration published from a Rochester New York news company. The other two are credited to Grand Rapids companies. The local Dickinson Brothers card has Art Nouveau type art work on the mailing side, and an artistic background border for the two black and white photos included on the picture side. The W. Millard Palmer Co. local card seems to show a more rural setting and an early out building not seen in most of the other early views of building. If accurate it could actually be the earliest postcard view available of the building, except that there is also a divided back cards of the same image, but it could have been reprinted later. A divided backed Rotography Co., card, postmarked 1909 is also found, along with several other mostly photo based illustrations from the ca. 1909-1915. Still later reproductions in the Ryerson Buildings samples document the different color reproduction processed in use.