Postcard completes journey of 154 years
The postcard, which celebrated its 154th anniversary on Sunday, continues to survive in the digital age, with over 53,000 sold in Prayagraj last year. The first postcard was issued in Austria in 1869 and has been used for various purposes such as sending wishes and messages. There are four types of postcards available, ranging in price from 25 paise to ₹10. The first postcard in India was issued in 1879 and was printed in light brown color.
Not as popular as it once was, the postcard continues to survive in the present digital age of social media completing 154 years of its journey on Sunday. The first postcard in the world was issued in Austria on October 1, 1869.
Throwing light on the journey of postcards, postmaster general of Prayagraj region, Krishna Kumar Yadav said that postcard has been a witness to various movements ranging from marriages and good wishes and the craze for postcards continues even in the Internet era last year along witnessing the sale of over 53,000 postcards from post offices in Prayagraj area alone.
The young generation lost in social media may not have encountered postcards, but at one time postcards were the main means of sending wishes and messages. These postcards have conveyed everything from weddings and good wishes to news of death. Many politicians, litterateurs and agitators have used postcards very well, he added.
There are four types of postcards available in post offices. “Meghdoot Postcards, Normal Postcards, Printed Postcards and Competition Postcards costing 25 paise, 50 paise, ₹6 and ₹10 respectively. The competition postcard is currently not available. These postcards are all 14cm long and 9cm wide,” he added.
“The idea of the postcard first came to Austrian representative Kolbensteiner, who discussed it with Emmanuel Hermann, professor of economics at the Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. He found this idea quite attractive and wrote an article about it in a newspaper on January 26, 1869,” said Yadav.
The Austrian postal ministry acted on the idea and the first copy of the postcard was issued on October 1, 1869, he added.
He said that the world’s first postcard was yellow in colour and was 122 mm long and 85 mm wide. On one side, space was left for writing the address, while on the other side blank space was left for writing the message.
Yadav said that the first postcard in India was issued in 1879. “The price of this first postcard, printed in light brown colour, was 3 paise and ‘East India Postcard’ was printed on this card. The coat of arms of Great Britain was printed in the centre and in the upper right corner was the crowned face of Queen Victoria, printed in red brown. People liked this medium of expression so much that postcards worth about ₹7.5 lakh were sold in the first three quarters of the year itself, “he added.
