Collecting Vintage Holidays and Greetings Postcards can be fun and rewarding.

The antique cards are beautiful and historical. Postcard collecting, is currently the third largest collectable hobby in the world.

There are many things to look for when collecting Postcards. We have compiled a Postcard Reference Book List and some postcard info that we hope you will find helpful.

Many of our valued customers email us about how they can start collecting Antique and Vintage Holidays and Greeting Postcards.

 Here is a Starter Book List

Picture Postcards in the United States-by Dorothy Ryan-excellent The Artist-Signed Postcard Price Guide- A Comprehensive Reference by J. L. Mashburn Fantasy Postcards With Price Guide, A Comprehensive Reference by J.L.Mashburn Vintage Postcards for the Holidays- Identification & Value Guide by Robert Reed, Claudette Reed American Postcard Guide to Tuck by Sally Carver Postmarked Yesteryear- Art of the Holiday Postcard by Pamela E. Apkarian-Russell The Postcard Price Guide-J.L. Mashburn (he has several books) Postcard Companion-Jack.H. Smith Encyclopedia of Antique Postcards-Susan Brown Nicholson Standard Postcard Catalog-James Lewis Lowe The Collector's Guide to Postcards-Jane Wood The Postcard Price Guide by J. L. Mashburn

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 When buying or selling postcards, everyone wants to know the condition of the postcard. This rating system is used for older or antique postcards. M - Mint : A perfect card just as it comes from the printing press. No marks, bends, or creases. No writing or postmarks. A clean and fresh card. Seldom seen. NM - Near Mint : Like Mint but very light aging or very slight discoloration from being in an album for many years. Not as sharp or crisp. EX - Excellent : Like mint in appearance with no bends or creases, or rounded or blunt corners. May be postally used or unused and with writing and postmark only on the address side. A clean, fresh card on the picture side. VG - Very Good : Corners may be a bit blunt or rounded. Almost undetectable crease or bend that does not detract from overall appearance of the picture side. May have writing or postally used on address side. G - Good : Corners may be noticeably blunt or rounded with noticeably slight bends or creases. May be postally used or have writing on the address side. FR - Fair : Card is intact. Excess soil, stains, creases, writing, or cancellation may affect picture. Could be a scarce card that is difficult to find in any condition. ***************************

 AUCTION ABBREVIATIONS Und/B-Undivided Back 1901-1907 DB-Divided Back 1907-1915 WB-White Border 1916-1930 L-Linen era 1930-1945 C-Chromes 1945 to 1970s Cont. sz - 4"x6" chromes 1970s up b/w-black and white cof-cancel on face crs-crease cnr-corner emb-embossed lt-light m/t-margin tear o/w-otherwise p/ or pub - publisher pm-postmarked RP-Real Photo s/ or sgn - artist signed s/m-stamp missing u-used unu-unused wob-writing on back wof-writing on face a number within parenthesis indicates quantity of cards in lot. Please Visit our Ebay Store for More Beautiful Antique Postcards Please Visit Our Ebay Store Preservation of Postcards Dealers use plastic sleeves and album pages. Collectors should not, unless they are sleeves or pages of archival quality. A dealer's stock is constantly changing and cards are seldom in contact with this Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) storage system for long.

 We sell Postcard Sleeves in our eBay Store -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Postcard Sizes Sizes Continental size: 4X6 inches (15 cm X 10.5 cm) Many of the new cards you purchase today are of this size. Regular (or Standard) size: 3 1/2 X 5 1/2 (9 cm X 14 cm) Many of the older cards are of this size. Oversized: Anything larger than a continental size. Mostly 5X7 inches, but some can be found in larger sizes. Although this size of cards is popular with postcard companies and tourists, many collectors do not want them because they are more expensive, not easily filed, cost more to mail, and harder to trade with others. The advantage is of course the more detailed view of the scenes shown on the cards. Modern size: These are about 6 1/2 X 4 3/4 inches. They are often classified as a smaller type of oversized card.