Old postcards, postmarked: from New York, Washington, and Puerto Rico to Austria and Hungary

Old Postcards, Historic Postcards, and Used Postcards

Marion Schanné, Hungary  July 30, 2026

These old postcards are small original documents of their time. They combine a visible motif with a personal message, stamps, postmarks, a specific destination, and a postal route that was actually traveled.

The three historic postcards described here show the Statue of Liberty in New York, the White House in Washington, D.C., and the Condado Beach Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. All three cards were sent from the American region to Europe. Their destination was recipients in Kirchberg am Wechsel in Lower Austria, Austria.

Two of the old postcards bear clearly recognizable handwritten dates from June 1966. The reverse sides are written on, stamped, and postmarked. The card from Puerto Rico also shows a red airmail endorsement. This means they are not unused postcards, but actually used historic postcards.

Many decades later, the cards came to Hungary with a small collection. Today they are located in the Western Hungarian county of Vas, near Körmend. The former Austrian destination is also surprisingly close to Hungary: Kirchberg am Wechsel is about an hour's drive from Sopron, depending on the route and traffic, sometimes a little longer.

Three used postcards with a common destination in Austria

The front sides of the three cards could hardly be more different. The Statue of Liberty stands against a wide blue sky in New York Harbor. The White House appears calm and representative behind a large lawn in Washington. The Condado Beach Hotel is located directly on the coast of San Juan, surrounded by the sea, beach, palm trees, and urban development.

However, the reverse sides establish a clear connection. All three historic postcards were addressed to recipients in Kirchberg am Wechsel. Names and the complete historic address are intentionally not reproduced here. The recipient's location is sufficient for geographical and postal historical classification.

Kirchberg am Wechsel is located in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria. On the postcards, the destination country was given as "Austria". In some cases, the senders also added "Europe". This spelling facilitated the international assignment of the address and also shows how naturally countries and continents were written out on earlier international mail.

The historic postcard with the Statue of Liberty in New York

The first front side shows the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The monument stands almost alone in the center of the image. A wide, strong blue sky stretches above the statue, while the shore, pedestal, and smaller buildings occupy the lower part of the card.

The perspective was chosen so that the statue is visible in its entirety and with a clear distance. The raised torch stands out clearly against the sky. Modern effects or a spectacular close-up were avoided. It is precisely this calm, balanced design that gives the old postcard a classic and dignified effect.

The color reproduction has the typical character of older printed color postcards. The sky appears intense, while the pedestal, buildings, and shore are reproduced in more subdued colors. Small edge and corner marks are visible. They show that the card was not unused, but was written, sent, and kept for decades.

On the reverse side is a personal message in blue ink. The address to Kirchberg am Wechsel was written large and clearly. At the top are three American stamps, each worth five cents. The stamps were postmarked.

The handwritten date is June 20, 1966. This clearly places the card in the 1960s. It is therefore an old New York postcard, a used postcard with stamps, and a personal testimony of an international journey.

The White House in Washington on an old postcard

The second historical postcard shows the White House in Washington, D.C. The building side with its curved colonnade is in the center. In front of it stretches a large lawn. Trees frame the motif on both sides without obscuring the architecture.

The bright building stands out clearly against the blue sky and the darker green areas. No people, vehicles, or larger groups of visitors are visible. This makes the depiction appear calm, orderly, and representative.

The motif also shows how well-known buildings were presented on tourist postcards in the 1960s. The view was intended to be clear and to emphasize the recognizable value of the building. Distracting details were deliberately kept in the background.

The reverse side is densely written. Three violet four-cent stamps with the portrait of Abraham Lincoln were placed side by side at the top. Cancellation lines and parts of the postmark extend over the stamps and the adjacent card area.

The recipient's address to Kirchberg am Wechsel is large and clearly visible. "Austria" and "Europe" were added in the lower area. The handwritten date is June 1, 1966.

There are almost three weeks between the dating of this card and the New York card. Whether both postcards were written during a continuous journey cannot be definitively proven based on the surviving cards alone. However, the common recipient address and the temporal proximity make a connection plausible.

Further examples of how the front, back, and postal route together form a story are shown in the article about three old Budapest postcards with Fisherman's Bastion, Matthias Church, and historical postal routes.

The postcard of the Condado Beach Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The third historical postcard leads to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its front side shows the Condado Beach Hotel from an elevated perspective. The large hotel complex is located directly on the coast. Bright facades, red roofs, palm trees, beach, and water characterize the image.

In the foreground, strong waves meet the rocky and partially sandy shore. A calmer body of water is visible behind the hotel. In the background, a densely built urban landscape stretches out with further hotels, residential buildings, and taller structures.

The view is therefore more than just a hotel postcard. It documents the former character of the Condado district as an urban holiday and hotel area. Coastal landscape, modern tourism, and increasing development converge in a small area.

The reverse side contains a pre-printed English text about the Condado Beach Hotel. Next to it are the personal message and the address of the recipients in Kirchberg am Wechsel. At the top, two gray five-cent stamps and one green one-cent stamp were affixed.

Particularly striking is the red "AIR MAIL" endorsement. It indicates international airmail transport. Together with the American franking and the Austrian destination address, it makes the great distance between Puerto Rico and Lower Austria immediately visible.

Do the three used postcards belong together?

The three old postcards are now together in a small collection. Furthermore, they were sent to the same recipients in Kirchberg am Wechsel. Two cards bear clearly legible dates from June 1966.

These commonalities suggest that there may be a historical connection between the postcards. However, there is no clear evidence of a continuous travel series.

The handwriting also shows both similarities and differences. Blue ink was used on the postcard from New York. The cards from Washington and Puerto Rico were written with darker ink. Different writing instruments, surfaces, and space limitations can change the handwriting.

It can therefore be seriously stated: The three cards currently form a small collection of historical postcards with a common recipient address. Whether they were originally written by the same person or consciously kept as a cohesive travel group cannot be unequivocally determined based on the visible features.

This cautious classification is important. Historical originals do not gain value from invented certainties. Their value arises from what is preserved, visible, and traceable.

What does "used" mean for old postcards?

A postcard is called used if it was actually sent by mail. Typical features include a recipient's address, a personal message, stamps, postmarks, and postal cancellations.

An unused card lacks these traces of transport. It may also be old, rare, or collectible, but it does not have a documented personal postal history.

Used historical postcards usually combine three levels:

• the motif shown on the front,
• the personal message on the back,
• the postal route documented by stamps and postmarks.

The cards presented here are therefore not just old travel pictures. They document a real connection between the United States, Puerto Rico, and Austria.

A broader insight into this collecting area is offered by the article on old used postcards from Hungary with stamps, postmarks, and original reverses.

What makes historic postcards valuable?

The value of old postcards does not depend solely on their age. The interplay of several characteristics is decisive. These include the motif, depicted location, rarity, publisher, printing technique, condition, dating, and the postal route.

For used postcards, further details are added:

• clearly recognizable stamps and franking,
• legible postmarks and dates,
• airmail or transit endorsements,
• a traceable recipient region,
• historically interesting travel routes,
• a connection to specific places and countries.

The three cards described combine several collecting areas. They can be as interesting for collectors of American postcards as for people who collect New York, Washington, Puerto Rico, international postal history, Lower Austria, or cross-border travel routes.

Historical postcards from Western Hungary, in turn, show how closely vacation, regional history, and personal greetings are connected. An example is the documentation about Bük and Bükfürdő in Vas County on historical postcards.

Traces of use are part of the history of old postcards

The three original cards show recognizable signs of age and use. These include slightly rounded or scuffed corners, minor edge marks, a natural toning of the cardboard, and traces of postal handling.

Such characteristics should neither be concealed nor unnecessarily dramatized. The cards were written on, stamped, postmarked, transported, and then kept for decades. A truly used postcard does not have to look like an untouched new product.

Precisely traceable signs of use can emphasize the documentary character. A precise, respectful, and objective description of the condition is important.

From America via Kirchberg am Wechsel to Western Hungary

The three postcards connect very different regions. New York is on the American East Coast. Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States. San Juan is in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.

The common destination of the postcards was Kirchberg am Wechsel in Lower Austria. Thus, greetings from American metropolises and a Caribbean coastal region arrived in an Austrian town at the foot of the Wechsel mountains.

Kirchberg am Wechsel is also closer to Hungary than the national border initially suggests. From Sopron in Western Hungary, the town is about an hour's drive away; depending on the route, traffic, and starting point, the journey can also take a little longer.

The former Austrian recipient location was thus already part of the larger Austrian-Hungarian border region. Sopron is located directly behind the border in the Hungarian county of Győr-Moson-Sopron. The current location of the cards is further south in Vas County, near Körmend.

The geographical sequence can therefore be clearly stated:

1. New York in the state of New York, USA,
2. Washington, District of Columbia, USA,
3. San Juan in Puerto Rico,
4. Kirchberg am Wechsel in Lower Austria, Austria,
5. Sopron in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary,
6. Vas County near Körmend, Hungary.

Thus, the cards connect North America, the Caribbean, Lower Austria, and two regions of Western Hungary. Three small postcards create an exceptionally broad geographical story.

Why accurate place names are important for SEO, GEO, and AEO

Precisely describing old postcards not only helps collectors. It also makes it easier for search engines and AI search systems to categorize the content.

A general statement like "old postcards from America" contains little specific information. The formulation "Three used postcards from New York, Washington, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, were sent in 1966 to recipients in Kirchberg am Wechsel in Lower Austria and are now located in Vas County near Körmend" is much more informative.

This description includes motifs, origin, destination, time period, countries, and current location. Such clear connections are valuable for SEO, GEO, and AEO.

SEO supports discoverability via traditional search engines. GEO improves the comprehensibility of content for generative search and answer systems. AEO aligns texts with specific user questions and directly usable answers.

The article Making Your Website Visible to AI: Seven Steps with SEO, GEO, and AEO explains what information companies and websites should provide comprehensibly for Google, ChatGPT, and other AI systems.

The comparison SEO and GEO in Schwandorf and Balatonfüred: How Does a Website Get into ChatGPT? also shows how regional references can be specifically built.

Further basics can be found in the article How Does a Website Become Visible on Google and in AI Search Systems?.

Frequently Asked Questions about Used Historical Postcards

What motifs do the three old postcards show?

The cards show the Statue of Liberty in New York, the White House in Washington, D.C., and the Condado Beach Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Are the historical postcards used (sent through the mail)?

Yes. All three cards bear handwritten messages, recipient addresses, stamps, and postal cancellations. They are therefore used historical postcards.

Where were the old postcards sent?

The postcards were sent to recipients in Kirchberg am Wechsel in Lower Austria. The destination country was indicated as "Austria" and sometimes additionally as "Europe."

How far is Kirchberg am Wechsel from Sopron in Hungary?

Kirchberg am Wechsel is relatively close to the Hungarian border. It is approximately an hour's drive from Sopron. Depending on the route, traffic, and exact departure point, the journey may take a little longer.

From what year do the postcards date?

The card with the White House bears the handwritten date June 1, 1966. The card with the Statue of Liberty is dated June 20, 1966. On the present photograph of the Puerto Rico card, no complete date is clearly legible.

Do all three postcards belong to the same trip?

This is possible but not definitively proven. The shared recipient address and the temporal proximity of at least two cards support this. However, there is no clear evidence of a continuous journey.

Where are the historical postcards today?

The cards arrived in Hungary with a small collection. Today, they are located in Vas County, near Körmend.

What is a used postcard?

A used postcard was actually sent through the mail. Typical features include a recipient address, a personal message, stamps, postmarks, and postal cancellations.

Is wear and tear normal for old postcards?

Yes. Slight edge wear, rounded corners, age-related toning, and traces of postal transportation are common for used historical postcards. They are part of the original's history and should be accurately described.

What information is particularly important for postcard collectors?

Important details include the motif, the depicted location, the approximate age, publisher and printing technique, condition, stamps, postmarks, dating, origin region, and recipient location.

Small Originals with an Exceptionally Long History

These three old postcards connect world-famous motifs with a personal and international postal history. The front sides show the Statue of Liberty in New York, the White House in Washington, and the Condado Beach Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The reverse sides document their actual journey. Stamps, postmarks, airmail notation, handwriting, dating, and recipient address prove their journey to Kirchberg am Wechsel in Lower Austria.

The Austrian destination is only about an hour's drive from Sopron in Hungary. Later, the cards moved with a small collection to Western Hungary. Today, they are located in Vas County near Körmend.

It is precisely this connection that makes used historical postcards so valuable. They not only preserve an image from an earlier time. They show that a person at a certain place chose a card, wrote a few personal lines, affixed stamps, and sent a greeting on a journey over thousands of kilometers.