Divided Backs (1907-1815)

In 1907, the United States Post Office finally permitted the use of divided back postcards. The back was divided in half, the address written on the right and the message on the left. The entire front of the card was reserved for the image. These postcards were often hand-colored with a small title on the front, as seen in the image below. Millions of postcards were printed during this time period, most of them in Germany, and the public was caught in a postcard collecting craze. The onset of WWI brought about the end of this Golden Age of postcards, and, by 1915, a cheaper, less popular postcard was being produced.

Divided Back Postcard: Image courtesy of the University of Vermont Landscape Change Program and the Francis Favreau Collection