Continental Postcards

As the printing industry downsized during the 1970’s to save on paper costs, postcards headed in the opposite direction. Many were enlarged from the standard 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches to 4 by 6 inches, which is the largest size the U.S. Postal Service allows to go through the mail at a postcard rate. Though mostly printed as bleeds, black borders became fashionable in the early 1980’s. Continentals were a forerunner of the supersize trend in marketing. Venders were able to charge more while customers got more card for their money even if more was not needed. Today continentals are in strong competition with standard sized cards. More recently even larger sized cards are being produced, but they stretch the definition of postcard as they can only be mailed at letter rate.

While this larger size format was new to the United States, it had been used back in Europe since the late 1920’s. Continental sized cards from Germany and the Soviet Union are the most common to be found. These cards are not to be confused with modern continental size reproductions of older standard sized cards, which are abundant.

Use the link below for a more compleate history of this period.