The collections of the German Historical Museum

The postcard collection of the German Historical Museum, which contains of more than 7,000 items, has been established as a separate collection for only a few years. Before that, postcards had been integrated in other departments like the Collection of Contemporary Documents, Graphic Arts, or Everyday Life Culture. However, the quality of the holdings and the wide range of use of postcards rendered it more appropriate to unite them under a separate name for further systematization and enlargement.

Picture postcards, having a view either on the front or the back, became popular in the final quarter of the 19th century. By 1878, almost every European nation had authorized postcards as a means of postal communication. After 1885 postcards printed by private firms were allowed to be send across the borders of the given country. This marked the beginning of the triumphal march of a pictorial medium which is presently being revived. Likewise, postcards reflect the use of different printing techniques: rotogravure, surface and fled-bed printing. Additionally, they were printed with glitter or fabric ornaments, designed as transparent and folding cards. The first colored picture postcards were still manufactured with the expensive chromolithograph procedure. Starting in 1892, postcards printed with silver bromide copied from a negative spread in vast numbers until finally the offset printing process replaced the older techniques. Today offset is the standard method used in the production of postcards.

There is no subject that cannot be found on postcards. For long, they satisfied the general desire for pictorial news and information. Thus, the collection of the German Historical Museum includes the whole range from souvenir postcards to political propaganda postcards, from kitsch to art. A special emphasis is put on postcards which reflect historical events. The different motifs also give a general idea of the changes in the everyday life of a given era: the slogans and symbols are able to reveal opinions, attitudes, and political standpoints of their time of origin.

Have a look at the archive.