About Us

Postcard enthusiasts sharing art and history

The New England Postcard Club was founded in 2023 by collectors Kathy Alpert and Steve Kruskall. In addition to our annual show in March, our club hosts three meetings each year at the Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History in Weston, Massachusetts. Every meeting features a speaker and a small auction with the entire proceeds going to the benefit of the club. All our events are free of charge. Between these events, we stay connected through our Facebook Group.

The Golden Age of Postcards

Hundreds of millions of postcards were exchanged during the Golden Age of Postcards from 1905-1914.  In the early 20th century, mail was delivered two or more times each day. With no telephones, people relied on postcards to arrange meetings and order groceries. Practically every Victorian sitting room in the U.S. and England had an album of postcards to share with visitors. Since the postcard itself and the postage were each a mere penny, cards were known as “penny postcards.” The first “undivided” penny postcards had no room for a message. By 1907, the “divided” back was born, and for the first time, postcard senders had an irresistible and affordable way to send a personal message. Exchanging postcards became as routine and widespread as texting and emailing are today.

The outbreak of WWI heralded the steep decline of the Golden Age of Postcards. After the major German printing factories were bombed, imports to the U.S. fell precipitously.  U.S. printers picked up some of the slack, but U.S. printing processes never matched the Germans’ stellar chromolithography.

Postcards & Collectors

Postcard collectors have a wide range of interests, collecting a multitude of topics from Airplanes to Zebras and everything in between (“Topicals”). Others seek “View” postcards and are tickled to find their old high school.  Some collectors look for hotels, main streets, boardwalks, beaches, and cityscapes. Yet another group seeks out “Artist-Signed” cards, including some executed by world-class artists. Many covet “RPPCs” (actual photo postcards), aka real photos. This group often looks for specific images of towns, buildings, or depictions of cultural events.