World's first postal cardIn 1869, the Austrian Postal Administration authorized the world’s first postal card, known as a Correspondz Karte. Dr. Emanuel Hermann had suggested them to provide soldiers with an inexpensive way to keep in touch with home. They were so popular that 3 million were sold in the first three months after issue. By the next year, several other governments had taken up the idea. In Britain, 75 million of the half-penny cards were posted in the the first year of use. Several other countries issued cards in that same year or the next. The U.S. authorized postal cards with an Act on 8 Jun 1872, and began selling a one-cent card on 1 May 1873.[Image: detail from postcard showing stamp.] |
