New Year postcard, 1909.

New Year postcard. Embossed, gilded, chromo-litho. printed postcard. Posted in Belgium in 1909. Probably of German manufacture in spite of saying:”Bonne Annee” on the front. Very good condition apart from the bit of gummed brown paper on the back (presumably from being stuck into an album). It may soak off easily but I’m not going to try. I tend to ruin everything I touch so, over the years, I’ve learned not to.
I think I’m right in saying that we (the British) made less of a fuss about sending New Year postcards in the Edwardian period. There seem to be a lot of Victorian New Year cards but fewer Edwardian postcards. Most of them are Continental. Easter postcard, postmarked 1904.
I like chromo-lithographic printing. It was very labour-intensive and I don’t think that the glowing colours have ever been equalled. The best printers were German but I often see British and American examples that are very good.
When I was 18-20 I made a small collection of chromo-litho. postcards. I sold them decades ago but the prices are much the same now – less if you consider inflation. Postcards, like so many things, are relatively cheap.
http://postcard.co.uk is the website of the Postcard Traders Association. I’m not a member of anything but they’re full of good people.