MAY/JUNE 2017 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 141
World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. People incorrectly
assumed that these cards only required 1-cent stamps, like the
government-issued cards. It was not until 1898 that Congress
approved a special 1-cent rate for the privately produced
postcards to be priced the same as the government-issued postal
cards.
The “golden age of postcards,” when people began to send
and collect them in tremendous numbers, came in the early
1900s. This was made possible partly because the post office
had created a national network of daily free home mail delivery
in 1896. This trial run service became permanent by 1902. The
accessibility of postcards made them even more popular.
Women, who were partial to holiday-themes, were responsible
for sending the largest quantities, about 75 percent of the them.
Vacationing tourists also sent voluminous amounts of picture
postcards adorned with images of scenic sites or even humorous
anecdotes. Some people even supplied their own photographs
using special card-sized paper created by Kodak especially for
that purpose.
Changes around the world affected postcards’ usage and
availability. A 1909 tariff act, World War I, the Great Depression,
and of course the invention of telephones, took their toll.
Today, these postcards from the past are still collected, traded,
purchased and sold. In addition, while not as many postcards
are being exchanged personally, businesses continue to send out
billions of pre-stamped cards and stamped postcards to reach
current and potential customers.
The postcard postage rate was raised to 2 cents in 1952, then
to 3 cents in 1958, and then to 4 cents in 1963. The cost continued
to rise a cent or two every few years until today, when mailing a
“penny postcard” costs 34 cents. The price of mailing a postcard,
or a letter, will no doubt go higher again, the next time Congress
votes to raise it.
In today’s world, you can shoot a selfie with your phone and
send it to a multitude of friends with one touch of a button at no
cost. It is easy to understand why, although it would be more
personal and meaningful to receive a postcard, you probably
haven’t discovered a picture of the Grand Canyon or Statue of
Liberty in your mailbox recently with a personal note and the
saying, “Wish you were here.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: A special thank you goes to Enola C. Rice, the
spokesperson for Corporate Communications Suncoast and Mississippi
Districts for the U.S. Postal Service, for her help with some of this
information. If you have any questions about the people, places or
things in the Tampa Bay area, please send them to “Ask Margaret” at
Tampa Bay Magazine, 2531 Landmark Drive, Suite 101, Clearwater,
Florida 33761. We regret that not all questions can be answered.
These vintage postcards
painted an exotic picture of
the Tampa Bay area for friends
and relatives who received
them from visiting tourists.