During the early 1900's, the three most popular hobbies included collecting stamps, collecting coins and collecting post cards. Today when traveling, we take pictures with our cell phones. Then, you bought postcards and collected as many as you could wherever you went. Mailing postcards to friends then was kind of like posting pictures on Facebook or Instagram today. The impact on the postal service at the time was quite significant. In 1895, the U.S. Postal Service handled 5 billion pieces of mail including their official Postal Service Card. In 1898, permission was granted to private companies to make and market their own "private mailing cards", eventually shortened to become "post cards". By 1905, mail service volumes had doubled to 10 billion pieces and by 1913 to 18.5 billion pieces - most of which growth was due to the popularity of post cards.
Post cards produced initially had no photos. When photos were added, postcards were typically produced by black & white lithography - a process the Germans were quite good at. As a result, most post cards early on were produced in Germany, like the postcard image of a sawmill in Tacoma that follows.
Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1982.37.48, circa 1910
The above log is said to have scaled at 13,800 board feet, though it looks a bit less than the 11 ft. in diameter indicated. Can you imagine the size of saw blade needed to saw this baby? Also, can you imagine what it took to manage the logistics of taking photos on glass plates, packaging and shipping them to Germany and then getting them shipped back for local distribution?
WWI ended imported cards from Germany, forcing the U.S. to establish it's own printing capacity. Fortunately, printing processes became simpler and publishing houses sprouted up everywhere, including here in the northwest. Through this legacy and with people's extensive saved collections, we are able to see much more clearly what life was really like "back in the day".