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Buying Old Greeting Cards: 6 Originals from the Imperial Era

Those looking to buy old greeting cards often seek more than just a pretty floral design. Especially with originals from the Imperial era, it's worth examining both the front and back. Violets, forget-me-nots, shamrocks, roses, and lilies of the valley on the picture sides tell of the taste of their time. On the reverse, one finds names, locations, handwritten messages, stamps, and postal details.

The six cards in this article are offered in three 2-card sets. They date from the early 20th century and combine motif history with regional and postal history. Some places still exist under the same name, others now bear different names or are located in a different country. If you generally enjoy such historical originals, you will find more cards where the motif and reverse can be viewed together among our old postcards from Hungary.

Why Used Postcards Tell So Much Today

An unwritten postcard initially shows its motif and the design of its time. Once a card has actually been sent, further layers are added. The stamp and postmark often indicate the date and origin. The address shows where the card was headed. Handwriting and personal messages provide immediate insight into daily life at that time.

This difference is particularly well illustrated by the six cards presented here. Five cards were written and sent by post. One card with a violet motif remained blank and only bears the note "Printed in Germany" on the back. Within the first set, it allows a direct comparison between an unused greeting card and a card whose postal journey can still be traced today.

How much a reverse side can tell about a journey is also shown by old used postcards and their postal routes. There, too, stamps, addresses, and actual routes taken are central. Precisely this second layer makes old postcards so interesting for many collectors.

Varel and Neuenburgerfeld: Old Greeting Cards around 1907

The first set consists of two historical floral cards. One shows dark violets in a red vase and a printed spring greeting. Its reverse is blank and marked "Printed in Germany." An exact year of manufacture is not indicated on this card.

The second card shows a large bouquet of forget-me-nots. It was sent by post in January 1907 and bears a green 5-Pfennig "Deutsches Reich" stamp. The postal route led from Varel to Neuenburgerfeld near Neuenburg. Address, handwriting, stamp, and postmark are present on the original.

Varel is located in today's Lower Saxony in the Oldenburger Land and not far from the North Sea coast. Neuenburg and Neuenburgerfeld are also located in this region. Such a card can therefore be interesting for local and regional collectors far beyond the floral motif. It connects two specific places and at the same time documents how personal greetings were sent in the early 20th century.

The handwritten messages are an important part of such originals. They show old forms of address, formulations, and family connections that would not be visible on the picture side. In addition, there are postmarks and stamps that provide a chronological framework. This connection between personal message and postal history can also be impressively seen in our historical field postcards from 1916. There, too, it becomes clear how much history can be preserved on a few square centimeters of paper.

Berlin, Gollantsch, Wongrowitz and the Province of Posen

The second set leads to a different region of the former German Empire. Both greeting cards have been used and bear green 5-Pfennig "Deutsches Reich" stamps.

One card shows shamrocks, red blossoms, and a large ribbon. On its reverse, the historical address leads to Gollantsch in the Wongrowitz district in the Province of Posen. The former German place names are important for historical classification. Gollantsch is now called Gołańcz. Wongrowitz today bears the Polish name Wągrowiec. Both places are now in Poland.

The second card shows a rose, lilies of the valley, and other flowers. It has a Berlin postal connection and is dated March 29, 1911. Berlin was then the capital of the German Empire and one of the country's most important political, economic, and cultural centers.

Thus, different regional traces meet in this set. Berlin is still known by its historical name. Gollantsch, Wongrowitz, and the Province of Posen, on the other hand, lead to a historical administrative landscape whose borders and place names have changed. Precisely such cards can therefore be interesting for regional collectors, family researchers, and people specifically looking for historical places in the former Province of Posen.

Place names can turn a seemingly decorative card into a tangible piece of regional history. An old street name, a former district designation, or a legible postmark often opens up new avenues of research. This applies not only to former eastern territories. A historical map of the Upper Palatinate can also reveal changes in a place. An example of this is the article about the historic market square of Schwandorf around 1905. There, too, the motif, postmark, stamp, and city history can be directly connected.

Königsberg, Wolfen, and Paris: Postal History Across Borders

The third set spans the widest geographical arc. One card was postmarked on November 18, 1901, in Königsberg in Prussia. On its reverse is a green 5-Pfennig stamp with the inscription "Reichspost."

Königsberg was the historical capital of East Prussia and an important trading, administrative, and university city. The city was located on the Pregel. Closely associated with Königsberg are the Albertina University and the philosopher Immanuel Kant. Historic Königsberg is located where today's Kaliningrad stands. An original Königsberg postmark from 1901 therefore gives the card a very clear temporal and geographical reference.

The second card shows a large bouquet of violets. On the reverse is a red 10-Pfennig "Deutsches Reich" stamp. The postmark indicates Wolfen, then in the Bitterfeld district in the Prussian Province of Saxony. Today, Wolfen belongs to the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt.

The card's destination was outside the German Empire: Paris, Rue de Fleurus 36. A personal message thus made its way from Wolfen to the French capital. For collectors of historical international mail, a fully legible destination address is particularly interesting. It allows one to trace the postal route not only generally, but to a specific street.

What Connects These Six Old Greeting Cards

Varel and Neuenburgerfeld, Berlin, Gollantsch and Wongrowitz, Königsberg, Wolfen, and Paris are far apart. On these six cards, they become concrete points of a postal history more than a hundred years old. This makes them interesting for various collecting areas.

For regional collectors, the place references are paramount. Motif collectors discover violets, forget-me-nots, shamrocks, roses, and lilies of the valley. Those interested in postal history tend to focus on franking, stamps, and addresses. Family and local researchers can use names and historical administrative designations as a starting point for further research.

A collection therefore does not necessarily have to be built according to a single criterion. Some collectors focus on a city, others on time periods, motifs, or specific postal routes. How a collection can be consistently viewed by one place is shown, for example, in our collector's catalog with old postcards of Mainz. There, city views and their different historical perspectives are central.

Places on Old Postcards Are More Than SEO Terms

For a good description, a place name should not simply be written multiple times into a text. It only becomes interesting through context. When was the card sent? Was the place the starting point or destination? Which historical administrative designation was used? What is the name of the place today?

With the six greeting cards presented here, precisely such connections can be made. Königsberg leads to today's Kaliningrad. Gollantsch leads to today's Gołańcz and Wongrowitz to Wągrowiec. Wolfen today belongs to Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Varel, Neuenburg, Berlin, and Paris, however, still bear their familiar names.

That geographical contexts can make a collection much more exciting is also shown in our article on old postcards, places, regions, and their history. There, too, it becomes clear that the back of a card often provides just as much geographical information as the motif on the front.

Buying Old Greeting Cards: What Collectors Should Look For

Those who want to buy old greeting cards and build their own collection should first check whether it is actually a historical original or a later reproduction. For used cards, the stamp, postmark, and address help with chronological classification. A clearly legible stamp can also create a desired place reference.

The condition also plays a role. Age-related discoloration, minor stains, or slight edge marks are not uncommon for cards more than a hundred years old. Stronger creases, tears, missing corners, or other damage can affect the market value. Therefore, both the front and back should be carefully examined before purchase.

Other factors include motif, age, rarity, demand, publisher, printing technique, place reference, and postal history. A used card is not automatically more valuable than a blank one. Depending on the collecting area, a rare unused motif card can be just as sought after. If you want to compare different types of old cards, you can find more examples of original cards with patina, handwriting, stamps, and postal history in our article on buying old postcards from Hungary.

Why Fronts and Backs Belong Together

With an old postcard, the front is often the first thing that catches the eye. It often determines whether someone even takes a card out of a box or an album. For historical classification, however, the reverse can be at least as important.

On used cards, it contains stamps, postmarks, address, date, and personal messages. Sometimes, only these details can determine approximately when a card was used or what connection existed between two places. In family research, even names and old addresses can become important.

This also applies to cards from later decades. Three old Budapest cards, for example, not only show well-known sights but also document postal routes to Dresden and Arad on their reverses. You can read more about this in the article about old postcards from Budapest with Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church. There, too, a picture card becomes a personal document with a concrete travel route through its reverse side.

Permanently Documenting Old Greeting Cards and Postcards

As one builds a larger collection over time, it quickly becomes clear how important traceable documentation is. Especially reverses contain information that can hardly be reconstructed from memory later. A postmark, a hard-to-read address, or a personal message can be assigned much more easily if the front and back are digitally stored as a matching pair.

A clear naming of the files also helps. This way, the location, motif, and card pair remain traceable even if several hundred or several thousand cards have been digitized. This is particularly useful for larger collections where similar motifs and reverses can quickly get mixed up.

How such collections can be practically digitally secured and when one's own scanner makes sense is described in detail under having postcards scanned.

Frequently Asked Questions about Old Greeting Cards from the Imperial Era

Six old greeting cards, three sets, and an astonishing number of historical traces: from Varel and Neuenburgerfeld to Berlin and the Province of Posen, and on to Königsberg, Wolfen, and Paris. It is precisely the combination of floral motifs, personal handwriting, old place names, and postal information that shows why such cards today can tell much more than just their front side.

Sources for historical classification: historical dates, addresses, stamps, and postmarks according to the original cards depicted; historical place names for Königsberg and East Prussia; city history of Wolfen/Bitterfeld-Wolfen; historical administrative designations for Gollantsch, Wongrowitz, and the Province of Posen.