The Club was founded in December 1984 at a meeting in the “Withy Trees Hotel”, Fulwood, Preston.
The first meeting, attended by 27 people was in January 1985 in the Institute for the Blind in Fulwood, Preston.
The Club grew and in 1987 published a book containing 100 of the best postcard views of Preston.
Monthly meetings began and membership grew. Postcard Fairs started at Canterbury Hall, Garstang Rd, Preston, trips were organised to big Fairs in York and London and a Club magazine “Delta” was distributed.
The first postcard was introduced in Austria on 1st October 1869. Great Britain relaxed its postal regulations and followed suit exactly one year later, allowing postcards to be sent through the mailing system.
Originally the back of the postcard was blank for the message space, a stamp was imprinted on the address side of the card. These cards were seen as a quick and cheap way of sending non-confidential messages. No thought had been given to the inclusion of pictures, which made their appearance toward the end of the 19th Century. Picture postcards gradually became available but it was only in 1902 that the Post Office relaxed its regulations to allow a message to be written on the address side, leaving the other side available for the picture.
The Golden Age- By the start of the 20th Century, picture postcards had become well established. The first 14 years or so of the century are known as the ”Golden Age” of picture postcards. During that period millions upon millions of cards were sent for 1/2d and a great many of them were preserved in albums. As a result, even today, there are still millions of these early cards to be found.
Types of Picture Postcards- There are many ways of classifying postcards. One enormous class is “Topographical”, that is cards showing the physical features of an area, public buildings, views, streets, parks, monuments, etc. The other major category is “Subject” cards showing transport, flags, politics, warfare, cartoons, nature, sport, maps etc.