#MRS1948 – 1898 5c Grant (#281) on Postcard featuring The Terrace at Central Park

Historic "Private Mailing Card" Sent From New York to Russian Poland – Only One Available!

Now you can get a nostalgic postcard sent from New York to Russian Poland over 100 years ago.  This cover features an 1898 5¢ Grant (US #281) stamp tied to the postcard by a “Station W” flag cancellation.  There are also two Poland postmarks and a New York postmark on the stamp-side of the postcard. 
 
The pictorial side of this classic postcard pictures “The Terrace” in New York City’s Central Park and a message written by the sender.  The colorful, highly detailed image would have been a great way to send greetings from America to someone in another country.

An interesting note about this postcard is that it was likely one of the first to take advantage of the 1898 Private Mailing Card Act.  This law allowed private publishers to print their own postcards, many featuring striking color images like this one.  Evidence of this act’s influence can be seen in the text on the stamp-side of the postcard which reads “Private Mailing Card (Authorized by Act of Congress, May 19, 1898).”
 
With only one example of this cover in stock, send for it right away to avoid disappointment!
 

Private Mailing Card Act

1898 5¢ Grant Private Mailing Card
Item #MRS1948 – Scare 1898 Private Mailing Card – only one available!

On May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act.  The act allowed private printers to produce their own postcards with the same postage rate as government-issued cards.

The US Post Office didn’t begin producing postal cards until the 1870s.  Up until that time, people mailed cards with postage on them, and they were called “mailed cards.”  There were also picture envelopes, which may have been early inspiration for postcards.  Congress passed an act in 1861 that allowed privately printed cards weighing under one ounce to be sent through the mail.

Front of Private Mailing Card
Item #MRS1948 – The pictorial side of this classic postcard pictures “The Terrace” in New York City’s Central Park and a message written by the sender.

Then on June 8, 1872, Congress passed another act approving the US Post Office to produce its own postal cards.  The first of these was issued on May 1, 1873, with one side for the message and the other side for the recipient’s address.  By this new act, the Post Office’s cards were the only ones allowed to have the words “Postal Card” printed on them. Additionally, privately-printed cards were more expensive – 2¢ compared to the Post Office’s 1¢ cards.

2021 Barns postcard rate stamps
US #5550-53 – The current postcard rate stamps – 36¢ Barns, issued in January 2021.

Then on May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act.  This new act allowed private companies to produce their own postcards that could be mailed at the same price as government cards – 1¢.  The private cards were required to include the statement “Private Mailing Card, Authorized by Act of Congress of May 19, 1898.”  Messages couldn’t be written on the address side – in fact the address side usually had the phrase “This side is exclusively for the address.”  Many of these cards also included “Postal Card – Carte Postale” – which meant they were able to be mailed internationally.

In 1901, the Postmaster General amended some of the 1898 act’s provisions.  From that time on, the cards could read “Post Card” instead of “Private Mailing Card.”  Additionally, the cards no longer needed to cite the 1898 Mailing Card Act.

Another significant change came in 1907.  That year the Universal Postal Union declared that all member nations’ postal cards could have messages on the left half of the address side.  The US Post Office made this change to its postal cards and permitted private card manufacturers to do the same on their postcards.  This era is often considered the “Golden Age of Postcards” because of the rapid increase in their popularity.

Set of three photo postcards.
Item #M1160 – set of three photo postcards

While early postcards featured engraved, drawn, or painted images, the early 1900s saw the rise of photo postcards, particularly Kodak’s “real photo” postcards.  Kodak produced a special “postcard camera” that took a picture and then printed a postcard-size negative.  Beginning in the late 1930s, photochrom postcards, which featured photo-quality images, became the norm throughout the postcard industry.  Postcard collecting has always been a popular hobby, known as deltiology (from the Greek “writing tablet, letter”).

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Historic "Private Mailing Card" Sent From New York to Russian Poland – Only One Available!

Now you can get a nostalgic postcard sent from New York to Russian Poland over 100 years ago.  This cover features an 1898 5¢ Grant (US #281) stamp tied to the postcard by a “Station W” flag cancellation.  There are also two Poland postmarks and a New York postmark on the stamp-side of the postcard. 
 
The pictorial side of this classic postcard pictures “The Terrace” in New York City’s Central Park and a message written by the sender.  The colorful, highly detailed image would have been a great way to send greetings from America to someone in another country.

An interesting note about this postcard is that it was likely one of the first to take advantage of the 1898 Private Mailing Card Act.  This law allowed private publishers to print their own postcards, many featuring striking color images like this one.  Evidence of this act’s influence can be seen in the text on the stamp-side of the postcard which reads “Private Mailing Card (Authorized by Act of Congress, May 19, 1898).”
 
With only one example of this cover in stock, send for it right away to avoid disappointment!
 

Private Mailing Card Act

1898 5¢ Grant Private Mailing Card
Item #MRS1948 – Scare 1898 Private Mailing Card – only one available!

On May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act.  The act allowed private printers to produce their own postcards with the same postage rate as government-issued cards.

The US Post Office didn’t begin producing postal cards until the 1870s.  Up until that time, people mailed cards with postage on them, and they were called “mailed cards.”  There were also picture envelopes, which may have been early inspiration for postcards.  Congress passed an act in 1861 that allowed privately printed cards weighing under one ounce to be sent through the mail.

Front of Private Mailing Card
Item #MRS1948 – The pictorial side of this classic postcard pictures “The Terrace” in New York City’s Central Park and a message written by the sender.

Then on June 8, 1872, Congress passed another act approving the US Post Office to produce its own postal cards.  The first of these was issued on May 1, 1873, with one side for the message and the other side for the recipient’s address.  By this new act, the Post Office’s cards were the only ones allowed to have the words “Postal Card” printed on them. Additionally, privately-printed cards were more expensive – 2¢ compared to the Post Office’s 1¢ cards.

2021 Barns postcard rate stamps
US #5550-53 – The current postcard rate stamps – 36¢ Barns, issued in January 2021.

Then on May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act.  This new act allowed private companies to produce their own postcards that could be mailed at the same price as government cards – 1¢.  The private cards were required to include the statement “Private Mailing Card, Authorized by Act of Congress of May 19, 1898.”  Messages couldn’t be written on the address side – in fact the address side usually had the phrase “This side is exclusively for the address.”  Many of these cards also included “Postal Card – Carte Postale” – which meant they were able to be mailed internationally.

In 1901, the Postmaster General amended some of the 1898 act’s provisions.  From that time on, the cards could read “Post Card” instead of “Private Mailing Card.”  Additionally, the cards no longer needed to cite the 1898 Mailing Card Act.

Another significant change came in 1907.  That year the Universal Postal Union declared that all member nations’ postal cards could have messages on the left half of the address side.  The US Post Office made this change to its postal cards and permitted private card manufacturers to do the same on their postcards.  This era is often considered the “Golden Age of Postcards” because of the rapid increase in their popularity.

Set of three photo postcards.
Item #M1160 – set of three photo postcards

While early postcards featured engraved, drawn, or painted images, the early 1900s saw the rise of photo postcards, particularly Kodak’s “real photo” postcards.  Kodak produced a special “postcard camera” that took a picture and then printed a postcard-size negative.  Beginning in the late 1930s, photochrom postcards, which featured photo-quality images, became the norm throughout the postcard industry.  Postcard collecting has always been a popular hobby, known as deltiology (from the Greek “writing tablet, letter”).