People collect all manner of things, including vinyl records, old coins, stamps, and even postcards. Collecting is a fabulous hobby, and when it comes to postcard collecting, or deltiology as it is also known, there are just so many unique styles available.
A postcard collection can even be broken down into subcollections where you could collect postcards from cities around the worldor postcards featuring famous architectural buildings. The choice is yours.
Where to Get Postcards?
Take a look in any souvenir shop and you will see several stands dedicated to postcards. You are likely to find postcards featuring images from the town or city that you are in. The images might be of landscapes, or they could just depict something that the area is particularly well known for.
However, you can collect postcards in other ways too. For example, you might find someone selling their own collection online, or other people selling vintage postcards that they have had in their house for decades. Some individualslook for packets of old postcards at local flea markets, while others will collect those that have been sent out as direct mail postcards. The good folk at Full Tilt Direct, the experts when it comes to direct mail services, say that you could even make a collection out of postcards sent through the mail by businesses.
How to Take Care of a Postcard Collection
For some people, postcard collecting is a bit of fun and they just like to look through all the different postcards that they have gathered over the years. The fact that postcards are so small means that they do not take up mountains of space and so can be easily stored.
Nevertheless, there are those who collect rare postcards, and over the years have managed to collect some quite valuable pieces. It makes sense therefore that they would want to be sure that their collection is well cared for.
It is best to place postcards in individual plastic sleeves. You can buy display books that are specifically designed to hold postcards. These will keep them free from dust and dirt and prevent them from being bent out of shape or otherwise damaged or torn.
Some store their postcards in boxes with lids and keep them in a dark place to prevent them from fading in sunlight and being affected by moisture.
You should avoid holding batches of postcards together with elastic bands or paperclips because this is likely to mark then, reducing their potential value.
Displaying Your Collection
It is understandable that you might want to display your collection to show it off to anyone who visits your home. There are a variety of ways to display the collection. As already mentioned, you might want to house the postcards in a special bookthat you can flick through, but you could also consider creating your own gallery wall for your favorite postcards. If you are doing this, you might want to only use duplicates or those that do not hold as much value. This is because those stuck on a wall are likely to get marked or damaged by sunlight.
If you have a really rare and valuable postcard that you want to display, why not place it inside a glass frame. You can then proudly display it in your home, safe in the knowledge that it is protected behind the glass.
Alternatively, for a quirky display, you could hang some string along a wall and then pin your postcards to it using small pegs or clips. You can then alternate postcards when you want to change things up a bit.
