Postcards

The Greater Phoenix Postcard and Paper Show was this weekend -- an annual event held since 2004 at the North Phoenix Baptist Church Fellowship Center on Central and Bethany Home Road.  The first show I attended was in 2001 at the Centennial Hall at the Mesa Community and Conference Center.

The dealers at the show report that they now make more money on internet sales than at the shows but the show offers an opportunity to socialize and spend time with other dealers and friends around the regions they travel.

According to the History of Postcards, Deltiology, the official name for postcard collecting, is thought to be one of the three largest collectible hobbies in the world along with coin and stamp collecting.

Postcards play a big part in our family memorabilia with 75-100 cards I have of Gladys Hiestand Uible from the first half of the 1900s, with a couple from Cecil also.   Aunt Mary Uible Horton was a big writer of the penny postcards in her day, probably having sent hundreds to her parents, always peppered with her Ha!'s.  Also I have about 50 from the Ballantyne and New Cumberland side of the family, from the 1930s and 40s. (Which will be featured later this year in the blog.)

The post cards to and from family members probably number at least a thousand and are primarily from 1980 to the present.  Although I do have some from Mom and Dad's trip to Europe in 1954 and some from 1960-1979.

When I first started adding to my collection I took/bought indiscriminately with price being a factor.  This past year when the number of cards began to exceed the amount of space available, I sorted and organized a bit differently and even set two boxes aside as give away or to "play mailman" with KC.

Currently I'd estimate I have 8000 cards, filed in shoe boxes alphabetical by subject.  Separated out are the family ones which are not yet sorted by date, but that's my intent.

At this year's show I'm looking to extend two specific collections:  state map cards, of which I am still missing 10 states to have a complete US collection; and Carnegie Libraries in the US, of which I have 14, not even 1% of the 1,687 Carnegie Public Libraries built in the US.  Lots of potential there!  The state I currently have the most Carnegie Library cards is Montana with 4 of 17.  Indiana has the most Carnegie Libraries of any state with 165 (0 for me), California 142 (3), Ohio (4) tied with New York 106 (0) and Iowa with 101 (0) are the top five.

Note:  I'm not trying to monopolize this Blog.  Anyone else want to do a weekly, monthly, anytime post?  Options are available!  I would be happy to share in the publication schedule.