ALABAMA Birmingham 1st Presbyterian Church '10 postcard

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___________ This is a vintage post card, postally unused, circa 1910 Post card shows a view of, FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA AL ALA Card publisher S H KRESS The overall condition is very good or better (see scan). As grading is subjective, please look at scan for faults/defects. A postally unused card may have writing on the reverse The Golden Age of postcards, marked by the "divided back", began on March 1, 1907 with the enactment of a new law by Congress. This law, made it legal to pen a message on the reverse side of a postcard. The address was to be written on the right side of the reverse while the left side was reserved for writing messages. With the passage of this new law, the postcard hobby became a public addiction in America. Publishers printed millions of cards in this era, most being printed in Germany, the world leader in lithographic processes at the time. At the height of this country wide mania, WWI began and it brought with it, a crash in the hobby as the supply of postcards from Germany came to an end. English and U.S. publishers seized the opportunity to fill the gap with their products, many of which were of lower quality. The loss of the beautiful German cards coupled with the recurrent influenza epidemics, and WWI war shortages all had an adverse affect on the American postcard hobby.Then, as a last straw, the proliferation of the telephone, provided a fast, reliable means to keep in touch, at least for short distances in larger cities. The phrase, "Drop me a Line" became less important and hence, it is considered that the "Golden Age of Postcards" came to an end about 1915. ___________ HISTORY MATTERS! Snapshots of the Past The postcard view is now highly sought after by many historical institutions (including the Smithsonian!) and individuals, as it serves as a pictorial record of the past. Be it the view of a town main street, the local church, school, roadside attraction or the countryside, the post card mirrors the way our parents, grandparents and even we, once lived. Captured in these olden day images are views of people in the dress of the day, often at work, at play, at school or at church. The "Golden Age" postcard offers us a nostalgic look back in time, to a specific moment almost one hundred years ago. People from the city spent their summers in the country, generally to escape the heat. Others who traveled or went "visiting", all sent postcards back home for these were the days prior to big media and the proliferation of images. The picture postcard shared with the receiver, a look at life elsew Libraries kept post cards in catalogue files, offering their patrons the opportunity to see what life and the country looked like elsew Those in towns, also sent postcards to each other for in the early 1900's, the postcard was the e-mail, as well as the greeting card, of the day with a view of perhaps, the home town or a pretty holiday wish. Naturally, all first class mail went fast, in big cities the mail was delivered three times or more a day. In many small towns, it came at least twice a day. The use of telephones was not yet wide spread and long distance calls were to be avoided by most due to financial considerations. The picture postcard cost less than a nickel to purchase, but to really trim the budget, one could use a government postal purchased for a penny, including card and postage. Now, with an understanding of the medium, take a trip down memory lane with the magic of a post card! ___________ Buyer pays a reasonable combined s/h of: 1- 4 items = $1.50. I am always happy to ship internationally. T is no sales tax. I always try to ship within 24 hours of receiving payment.Thank you for looking at my listings. ___________ The buyer will receive an invoice with the total due. Please watch for it. Optional insurance is available at $1.75 per $50.00 of sales price. For your protection, insurance is required... read more

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