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Sepia, woman with flowers
Very, very heavily aged card mailed in 1910, with stamp, full Missouri postmark, and really long message. Grade: 4
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Three young Fulani girls
Returned U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers used to print calendars, and this card represents one page from 1993. Unused, but with notable abrasion along bottom edge. Grade: 3
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Water drops on leaf (Finland)
Card made in, and mailed from, Finland. No caption, four stamps, Priority label, and faint postmark. Grade: 2
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Happy Holidays!
Printed caption translates this as “With a holiday!” but we think “Happy Holidays!” might be better. Card mailed from Russia in 2013 with stamp and partial postmark. Grade: 1
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Children and doll (Belarus)
No caption on this card mailed from Belarus in 2013 with part of a stamp and part of a postmark. Grade: 5
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Oe Oe A Aa (Netherlands)
No, we don’t understand it either. Mailed from Netherlands in 2013, with three stamps, Amsterdam postmark, and Priority label. Grade: 1
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Pink hair (USA)
When cards like this have no caption, we need to give them a title for the website. Trust us, we had many ideas for this card before settling on the generic. Mailed from USA in 2013 with four stamps, postmark, and some barcoding. Grade: 1
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Here’s to Babies (USA)
Lost in translation? Once, we thought of opening a new theme category for “babies” until we realised it would overwhelm all the others. Babies, mountains, and churches … This heavily handled and much-loved card is very old. The stamp is there and the postmark is very clear, except for the year. Grade: 3
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Genius borrows nobly … Emerson
Just so you know, Emerson was referring to plaigarism when he wrote this. So we are careful to give the attribution in our own header, and to tell you that this is #359 from J.I. Austen Co., of Chicago. (We suppose that’s not Jane.) Mailed in 1906, the stamp is there along with postmarks from the sending and receiving offices. Grade: 2
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Best Wishes (Card 654)
Old, embossed, unused card without attribution. It may or may not be a sample, as it has a printed legend on the back: “Post Card No. 654, Assorted Designs 12 for 15cts”. No denying inflation. Grade: 2
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Stung.-
Ideas for new categories are coming at us right and left. How about “Rejection”?? This was mailed in the USA in what looks like 1912, from sister to brother. Unless “Hulda” is a man’s name. Stamp and mostly readable postmark are there. Grade: 3
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Child and chimp (Finland)
Mailed from Finland in 2013, with stamp, postmark, and Finnish Priority label. Grade: 1
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Red roof
Possibly not made in Poland, but mailed from there in 2013 with two large stamps (one Europa), two postmarks, and Priorytet chop. Grade: 1
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Vanity Fair, May 1925
We almost have enough of these book and magazine covers to open a new category, but not quite yet. This postcard was mailed in 2013 from Finland, with stamp, postmark, and Priority label. Grade: 1
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Pin-up girl (Ukraine)
Internet card, mailed from Ukraine in 2013 with four different stamps and blue bilingual Par Avion label affixed. Grade: 2
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Best wishes (PR China)
We’re going to spend a little time and comment on this. The printed caption on the back of this card–which was made in, and mailed from China–says “Thinking of you and wishing you all of life’s best to day and always. TO SOMEONE SPECIAL!” Now they either have the most perverse sense of humour, or are clueless, but our idea of special best wishes would not involve cleaning products. Mailed in 2013 with stamp, postmark, red bilingual Par Avion chop, and various other drawings and chops. Grade: 1 (despite everything)
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Thinking of you (USA)
Embossed, vintage postcard mailed in 1910 with stamp and postmark. Grade: 2
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Crow pulling string
Yes, we know … but what name would you have given this? The card doesn’t have a caption. It was mailed from Finland in 2013 with a special (and unusual) “ant sitting” stamp, and Priority label. It’s the sender who says the Finns are crazy–not us! Grade: 1
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You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide (USA)
Mailed in 2013 with round “Global Forever” stamp and postmark. Rounded corners. Grade: 1
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1928 German Water Polo Team
B&W card of the gold-medal-winning German water polo team at the 1928 Olympics. Mailed from USA in 2013, with five stamps (three of them uncancelled) and postmark. Some postal edge abrasions. Grade: 2
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Belle of Piru (USA)
A postcard of an orange crate label, mailed from USA in 2013 with round “Global Forever” stamp, readable postmark, and USPS barcoding on both sides. Grade: 2
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As Cossacks sent postcards (Ukraine)
Two of these internet photoFabrique cards are available, both mailed from Ukraine in late 2012 or 2013. The 2012 card has four very large and different stamps, two postmarks, and address label affixed (Grade: 4, $2). The 2013 card has one “E” stamp, postmark, and smudged Par Avion chop (Grade: 1, $2).
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Polaroids
Internet card, mailed from Taiwan in 2013 with two stamps and most of the postmark. Grade: 1
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Cupcakes
Mailed from Russia with four stamps and postmark, but that is really the only good thing about this unless you are desperate for a postcard with cupcakes on it. Grade: 5
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Pancakes with caviar (Russia)
Personally we prefer pancakes with maple syrup, but it’s a cultural thing, these blini. This internet card has the complete recipe on the back, and was mailed from Russia with three large stamps and Tomsk postmark. Grade: 1
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Sailor and Maiden
Very old card, not postally used, heavily aged and with a lot of writing on the back. Grade: 5
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Autumn foliage, moral courage (PR China)
An actual postcard, 5-1/2″ x 8-1/4″, mailed in 2013 with three stamps and postmark. Other than the sender’s message, the only printed caption is on the front, all about moral courage and all in Chinese. Grade: 2
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Life is short (Malaysia)
Putting this another way: life is short, so be happy. Mailed from Malaysia in 2013, with stamp and bilingual Mel Udara label. Grade: 3
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Heart
This card was made in, and mailed from, Lithuania with stamp, postmark, and bilingual blue Pirmenybine sticker affixed. Grade: 1
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Drops of water
Made in and mailed from Lithuania, with stamp, postmark, and address label. Grade: 4
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Pencils
Made in and mailed from PR China. Two stamps and postmark, and taped labels. Grade: 5
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Chorus line
You’d think, with 100+ theme categories, we would know where to assign this unused, British card. But no. So it goes here! Grade: 1
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Bringing Home the Flock
The unused card has a copyright date of 1908. We really can’t guess what the true colours are, because of a combination of fading and staining. But maybe you’ve been looking for this? Grade: 4
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Run Over and See Me/Us
Not postally used, and fully written on the back with a sort of map route. Grade: 5
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Don’t let your spirits get low
Mailed in the USA in 1910, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 5
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Too Busy to Write
Somehow it’s harder to find unused versions of this type of card. But this one is unused: E.C. Kropp 11927-Wis.33, sub-captioned “The Time Saving POST CARD For Busy Folks”. Spooning? Grade: 2
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Archer
Mailed from Jersey (U.K.) with stamp and partial postmark in 1904. Several years later, someone rubber-stamped the date Sep 21, 1945 on the back as well. It’s an old card. Grade: 3
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The Pursuit
Mailed in 1908, from Spokane USA, with stamp and postmark. Heavily aged and fragile card. Grade: 5
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Mary
That’s it: Mary. Embossed old card, unused. (If it had been sent to someone named Mary, we could charge more …) Grade: 2
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Dutch kids
Old, embossed card, mailed from New York, with stamp and not-quite-legible postmark. Grade: 2