1870: “Greetings from…”
Switzerland is the fourth country in the world to introduce the postcard. The postage costs just half that of a letter. As tourism takes off, the following decades see a veritable boom in postcards.
October 1869
In October 1869, the first postcard is sent in Austria. It is still called a “correspondence card”, and it doesn’t have a picture. As a precaution, the Austro-Hungarian postal service notes on the card that it “assumes no responsibility for the content of messages”. This is because the postcard is in conflict with the principle of mail secrecy. The success of the new cards is overwhelming, as they cost just half the postage for a letter and are easier to write. A few months later – in 1870 – Switzerland becomes the fourth country in the world to introduce the postcard. Until 1874, it is only permitted domestically.
The postcard saves time in communications and is the perfect fit for the era of industrialization: company logo, sender address and any text required are preprinted in business correspondence. Hoteliers, spas and trading houses in particular use the new postcards as an advertising medium.
“Isn’t it lovely, wish you were here!”
The first cards with images appear in the early 1870s – more or less at the same time as the flourishing phenomenon of tourism, which evolves into a mass-market business in the ensuing decades. Among travellers, demand grows for sending their greetings to people back home and showing them some of the attractions they have seen. Photography, which is now widespread, makes it possible to send pictures from holiday destinations to say: “Isn’t it lovely, wish you were here!”
