Are You Wondering About The Value Of Vintage Postcards?

As the manager of an Antique Mall, I'm often asked about the value of vintage postcards that people have found when cleaning out old attics, basements, and other rooms from a relative who has recently passed away. That is a difficult question to answer without seeing the postcards so generally I ask them to bring them in for me to take a look at for them.

Some old postcards command more money than others due to the theme of the postcard such as a holiday. There are very popular and collectible artists who illustrated postcards that also give more value to one old postcard over another. And of course, condition makes all of the difference to the value of vintage postcards.

There is a postcard book that I like to recommend to my customers who think they might like to keep the collection of old postcards that they have found. The Golden Age of Postcards Early 1900s (Identification & Values (Collector Books)) is one that I highly recommend for them to purchase if the collection contains really old postcards. The book has around 780 postcard samples for them to look at but it goes beyond just a boring price guide. There are examples of how to display vintage postcards in an album and even some suggestions on how to frame a set of old postcards. The values are slightly outdated being from 2008 but at least my customer can get a general idea of the value. Most of all I hope the book sparks some interest in them so that they might decide to even add to the collection a loved one started so many years ago.

Ephemera With Food As The Subject

 There are so many wonderful pieces of ephemera with food as the subject. Companies who canned foods, sold food products, labeled food crates and containers along with recipe books and much more are all items that we find on a regular basis. Let's face it, food was a major source of advertising and can be found in all sorts of ephemera.

I am really looking forward to a new book scheduled to be released around October of 2010. Culinary Ephemera: An Illustrated History (California Studies in Food and Culture) by William Woys Weaver can be ordered now in hardcover.

We are promised an unprecedented assortment of ephemera or paper collectibles related to food in the upcoming book. Weaver offers an extraordinary collection of enchanting designs and forgotten motifs that will stir our imaginations. The book offers images of postcards, match covers, menus, labels, posters, brochures, valentines, packaging, advertisements, and other materials from 19th and 20th century America.

It seems to me that this will be a book that will help the collector of ephemera along with those of us who sell these little pieces of history. I've ordered my copy and can hardly wait to start studying the pages! 

Bessie Pease Gutmann - Illustrator of Children

One of the better known illustrators of magazines and books back in the early 1900s was Bessie Pease Gutmann. She is still well known for her illustrations of young children, infants, and cherubs.One of my favorites is the one below of the little girl holding a puppy and kitten in her arms.

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Between the years of 1906 and 1920, Bessie Pease Gutmann did around 22 covers for magazines such as McCalls and Womens Home Companion. She also illustrated the 1907 edition of the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Johnny Depp and cast have made this book popular again with the movie Alice in Wonderland so it made me think of Gutmann and her marvelous illustrations.

We can find the original old prints from this wonderful illustrator of children along with newly printed ones to grace our walls and our collections. If you would like to find out more about this wonderful and talented artist, her life, and see more of her illustrations, this article, Bessie Pease Gutmann might have some interest to you.