Vintage floral postcards from the early 1900s

The vintage postcard is another form of ephemera that fascinates me. I love it that someone kept these small notes for so many years, usually a lifetime. I also love reading the messages.  Sometimes they are poetic, but most of the time, they're pretty mundane. The price of postage is an indicator of a postcard's age, and it's always a bonus when the postmark is readable, so the exact age of the card is revealed.

This lovely embossed postcard was mailed on May 24, 1909, just over 102 years ago! Postage cost only one penny then, but the postcard itself was a beautifully printed and embossed work of art. The sender wrote his succinct note in pencil: "I wonder what you are doing now. I'm in the country. Tell E.P. hello."

Mailed on September 15, 1910, this embossed floral postcard was addressed to someone with just the city and state. I guess the postman knew where everyone lived in the small town of Le Roy, Illinois. This sender also wrote in pencil, reporting that threshing was done and discussing a wheat crop. The handwritten message doesn't exactly fit with the "Love's Token" title on the card.

The most recent of today's postcards has a postmark of August 3, 1912. I love the white doves at the top and the faint image of a little church in the background. While the pair of doves would suggest romance, the sender is an aunt wishing the recipient "many happy returns of the day" on her birthday.

Here's the cover of a book I'm working on. I printed a copy of the Kind Greetings postcard on ivory card stock to use on the cover.

Kind greetings, everyone!