Tuesday, March 13, 2007

How old is my postcard? Part 9 The Photochrome Era

Welcome to Moody's Postcards, your source for vintage, collectible postcards! My name is Richard Moody and I started the company in 1986 and we have been accumulating "old" (otherwise known as "vintage collectible") postcards for twenty years. We specialize in United States view postcards but we also have thousands of antique foreign views, topical postcards and trade cards. Our goal is to exceed your expectations and provide a superior selection of the collectible postcard you are searching for.

The seventh postcard era is the Photochrome Era and runs from 1939 to the present. The "Modern Chromes" that fill the postcard racks of today were introduced in 1939 by the Union Oil Series with various states represented on these advertising cards. Soon, several of the publishers including Curt Teich, Dexter Press, Plastichrome and Mike Roberts followed with postcards that were characterized by beautiful chrome colors on a slick finish. This group of cards has been growing in popularity in recent years since they document history from the 1960s forward that were not covered when the linen era finally ended. This series is, and will be, sought after by the "baby boomers" as they seek images of their formative years. Below are two examples of chrome postcards from Moody's Postcards. The first is for Shasta Trailers and shows a horse drawn Amish carriage pulling the camping trailer.

The second image is an aerial view of the "new" 1960s Daytona International Speedway.