A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Palladiotypes (Palladium Print)
A photographic image based on the chemistry of the cyanotype in which paper is photo sensitized with iron salts. When developed out, the salts are replaced with palladium. This process was used to create homemade photo paper since the 1870’s. Commercial palladium paper was introduced in 1916 as a substitute for platinum paper that became unavailable during the First World War. But in the post war years its cost rose alongside that of platinum and its production was discontinued in the 1930’s. Palladium and platinum share many characteristics; their colors can range from a silvery gray to a warm brown; and they were sometimes even mixed together. Both metals are very stable for they embed themselves into the paper, rather than lie on its surface. This also gives them a very matte finish that makes them almost unrecognizable as photographs. Palladium paper was used for real photo postcards but they are not common.

Panchromatic (Pans Film)
The ability of film to capture the entire visual spectrum of light. This allowed color separations to be made from black & white film by employing color filters when shooting the photograph. Earlier silver based film was only sensitive to the blue and ultra violet wavelengths. The color sensitivity of panchromatic film comes closet to that of the human eye. Because of its greater sensitivity this film must be processed in total darkness. Panchromatic emulsion was invented by Frederick Ives in 1881 and introduced to the public as film in 1906.

Panorama (See All)
A large-scale 360-degree painting within a cylindrical structure (rotunda) that is viewed from its center to immerse the viewer into an illusion of reality. The first such panorama was patented by an Irishman, Robert Barker in 1787. Though originally built in Europe, they were based upon earlier traditions of wide format paintings and prints. In the United States very long paintings to which a viewing admission was charged were common. By the 1880’s the panorama returned to America in the form of cycloramas where many were built depicting battles, religious themes, and foreign views. Panoramas were a major art form of the 19th century and a leading form of mass entertainment. But eventually dioramas with wax figures and sound effects began to accompany these paintings to help compete with the movies that were siphoning of customers. The 20th century saw disasters and science fiction themes added as subjects to peak interest but the audience for this type of entertainment continued to decline. By the 1930’s most had been demolished. Only two Cycloramas survive in the United States today depicting the battles of Atlanta and Gettysburg. As postcards emerged amidst their popularity it was only natural for fold out cards to develop. Though not panoramas in the classical definition, all wide views are now commonly referred to by this term. Cycloramas themselves provided imagery for a number of postcards.

Paste-On Card
An embossed or printed postcard, usually in color letterpress, with a real photograph or intaglio print pasted onto it. Any small printer or individual with a hand press who had access to images could publish these cards. They were cheep and quick to produce and could be printed in small number. Artwork such as etchings that could not stand up to large press runs could be incorporated here. This made them very appealing to publishers afraid of financial risk, and to those who wanted to get in on the growing postcard market but that didn’t have a large enough client base to support large press runs. Past-on cards made their first appearance in the 1890s. They draw on the tradition of cabinet cards and were a precursor to the pennant card.

Patriograph
A trade name for souvenir cards printed by the American Souvenir Card Company between 1897 and 1898. They were not sold individually but only in sets marketed towards the collector.

Payne-Aldrich Act
During the election campaign of 1908, lower tariff rates were part of the Republican platform. After President Taft was elected he called up special session of Congress in order to address this issue. The House passed a bill close to the President’s wishes, but the Senate’s version was very protectionist. In a compromise agreed to in 1909, tariffs were lowered on 650 items, leaving 1,150 unchanged. But for 220 items including postcards, tariffs were increased. Up to this point postcards had only been minimally taxed, but this new protective measure lobbied for by the American Postcard industry, made importing cards from Europe very prohibitive. The controversy over protectionism helped propel Woodrow Wilson into the presidency in the next election. The Tariff Act of 1913 finally lowered the basic tax rates but much harm had already been done to international markets.

Pennant Cards (Felt Appliqué)
A pre-printed stock card to which a cut felt pennant baring the name of a location would be attached. A few publishers carried these postcards and would print specific place names on them on request. The felt could easily be printed on using a small jobbing platen or hand press allowing small quantities of cards to be ordered or more often to be printed by the retailer himself. A variation by Valentine & Son used pennants made of metal foil.

Penny Dreadful
A comic valentine card first designed by Charles Howard in 1870. The message was usually insulting in nature out of the tradition of the Vinegar Valentine.

Penny Postcard
The term applied to postcards of age because they only cost a penny to post. While many believe this term refers to the purchase price it is a bit of a misnomer as postcard prices were not consistent. For most of the early years of postcards, they sold for one or two cents. There were however many cheaply produced cards that went for two for a penny. Likewise there were also cards of higher quality selling for three to five cents. Real photo postcards also sold for about a nickel. When buying postcards in quantity some sort of discount was usually available.

Philocarty
An archaic term used in the early 20th century to describe postcard collecting.

Phonopostal
A type of French novelty postcard in which a self recorded message could be placed on an attached black lacquer record. A special device was needed to both record and play these messages; as they did not properly fit on a gramophone due to their rectilinear shape. These cards were developed by the Pathe Company prior to World War One.

Phostint
A trade name established in 1903 for the Swiss photochrom process as used by the Detroit Publishing Company. Not only did Detroit alter specifics of this process giving it a unique appearence, it underwent changes during the company’s history giving their cards sharp to soft looks. It is based on creating a continuous toned lithographic image through the use of photosensitive asphaltum. Many different colors were used requiring many litho-stones to create a single image. The precise details of their method were kept such a close trade secret that when Detroit Publishing went out of business the techniques they developed died with them.

Photo Chrome
A trade name for a type of postcard originally distributed by the American News Company and later by Gut & Steers that was printed in four-color lithography. The grain of the continuous tone on these cards is so fine but distinct it almost resembles a halftone screen on close inspection. Photo Chrome cards are characterized by bright cool colors and a soft hand drawn look. They were printed in the United States.

Photochrom Process
A continuous tone ten color lithographic process developed in Switzerland in the 1880’s by Orell Fussli & Company. Litho-stones were coated with a photosensitive Syrian asphaltum, exposed to a negative, and then processed as a normal lithograph. It was primarily used for the color printing of postcards and prints. Exclusively used by the Swiss PhotoGlob Company who licensed it out to Photochrome Ltd. of England, and the Detroit Publishing Company in the United States who eventually applied the trade name Phostint to the process in 1903. The precise details of this method varied by licensee giving each company’s cards a distinctive look.

Photochromes (Chromes)
Postcards printed in offset lithography with process colors. Photochrome is derived from Kodachrome, the name of the first high quality, multi layered film developed by Kodak in 1935. Color separation for litho-plates were made from this new film by the process camera that took halftone negatives broken down into four CMYK colors. The different screens were then rotated to create a rosette pattern enhancing the method’s subtractive color properties. These printed cards resemble color photographs even though they are made through halftone offset lithography. The Union Oil Company was the first to use photochromes in 1939 as giveaway postcards available at their service stations. Since the mid 1950’s almost all postcards have been printed as photochromes. These cards are usually refered to as Chromes.

Photochromie (Vidal Process)
A variation of the photochrom process invented in 1875 by Leon Vidal. It was a hybrid of chromolithography with elements of the photographic reproductive methods used to create woodburytypes. It produced very high quality reproductions but it was a difficult and expensive process and rarely used. Some European printers used this method to create high quality postcards. The process was later adapted to the offset press.

Photoglyphic Engraving
A photogravure process developed by W.H. Fox Talbot in 1858. Prior to the invention of the crossline screen, small ink cells were created by using an aquatint dusting of gum copal powder whose granules were melted onto the metal plate, leaving narrow channels between them that could be etched.

Photogravure
A form of intaglio printing in which a photographic image is chemically etched into a metal plate. First the printing plate is coated with a fine resin powder, which is melted onto it to create an acid resist with a random dot structure. Next a photosensitive dichromate gelatin emulsion is applied and exposed to a positive transparency. When washed, the gelatin hardened by light will remain on the plate and form an acid resist. The remaining gelatin will wash away in proportion to the density of the transparency that covered it, exposing the metal surface of the plate. When placed in successive acid baths of decreasing strength, the metal will dissolve in the exposed areas between the rosin dots. The thinner areas of gelatin will eventually wear away in proportion to their light exposure to revile the metal of the plate underneath; but because they have less contact time with the acid they won’t etch as deeply producing lighter tones. This process produces thousands of irregular ink cells in varying depths that merge into a subtle continuous toned image. Though the results are of higher quality than many other printing methods, its complexity makes it more expensive to produce and was used less often. This process was not typicaly used for postcards, except in Europe where it was more popular. Experiments were made with photogravure since the 1820’s but various problems prohibited its commercial use. By 1852 W.H. Fox Talbot was using a gelatin emulsion as an acid resist on metal plates. In 1864, J. W. Swan discovered a way of transferring an image onto a metal plate by using a photosensitive gelatin tissue. And in 1879, when Karl Klic added the step of aquatinting the plate with powdered rosin before the gelatin paper was adhered, the process was able to produce an attractive random grain along with fine detail. Klik’s method provided more consistent results and became the most widely used.

Photo Helio
A trade name for a type of postcard distributed by the American News Company that was printed as a four-color continuous tone heliograph. These cards are characterized by a fine grain with smooth color transitions in the skies and crisp foregrounds. A bright cool pallet was usually used. They were printed in Germany.

Photolithography
A printing method by which an image is transferred to a lithographic printing surface by photochemical means. This process was used with litho-stones and litho-plates including those for offset lithography. Each have their specific requirements and variations, but the process basically begins by preparing the printing surface with a photosensitive gelatin emulsion. This can be done by applying the emulsion directly to the substrate, or indirectly by first exposing a gelatin tissue and then adhering it to the plate. After exposure to a negative, processed and washed out, the light hardened gelatin remains on the plate as if it were a drawing. When the plate is dampened and rolled up with a greasy ink, the moisture will sit in the grain of the bare plate, and the ink will only stick to the remaining emulsion. It is then printed as a normal lithograph. Most postcards were printed using photolithography.

Photo-Mezzotype
A printing process similar to the collotype. It reproduced richly toned images from photographs.

Photo Supply House
A business that would warehouse negatives and sell them on demand. They were a forerunner to the stock photography industry that developed in the 1920’s. Most of these photos were not copyrighted; the photographer had little to no say on how they would be used and the images were often sold to different publishers at the same time. Few if any records were kept of the photographers who supplied the images.

Phototypie (photo-type)
An alternative name for the collotype process when used in Europe.

Pierrot (Little Peter)
A white-faced figure in a white floppy clownish costume. Based on the character of a common servant named Pedrolino, created by the Italian Giuseppe Giaratone in the 1600’s. A French actor Jean Gaspard Debureau turned this awkward mischievous servant into a silent suffering lover called Pierrot in the early 1800’s. After his death his son Charles continued this character's tradition by opening a school for mimes. The Russian performer Alexander Vertinsky created a black Pierrot variation in 1916. Pierrot was a commonly recognized figure when postcards emerged and is found on many illustrated cards.

Pigment
A colorant consisting of insoluble particles made up of many molecules. They are commonly ground into a resin, oil, or varnish base to create inks and paints. Generally more stable and lightfast than dyes of the same color.

Pin Registration
A process of aligning small pinholes in the printing substrate with mounting pins (locating pins) in the printing plate to achieve precision registration. This method was adaptable for use with flexography and with rotary letterpress and offset lithography. Because plates with pins could be aligned immediately without trying to match up printed registration marks by trail and error every time a new color was printed it saved much time and money. Registration marks are trimmed off a printed images edge when dry but the use of pins left small undesirable holes behind in the picture. Because of the holes, pin registration was not widely used commercially except when embossing was also employed; the irregular surface made alignment more difficult. Many embossed postcards have one to three pinholes in them. They were usually placed in areas where they would be inconspicuous.

Pinking
The pinkish stains found on paper where soluble Aniline dyes were used in printing and have run. Sometimes these stains are found on linen postcards and stamps.

Pin Registration
A process of aligning small pinholes in the printing substrate with mounting pins (locating pins) in the printing plate to achieve precision registration. This method was adaptable for use with flexography and with rotary letterpress and offset lithography. Because plates with pins could be aligned immediately without trying to match up printed registration marks by trail and error every time a new color was printed it saved much time and money. Registration marks are trimmed off a printed images edge when dry but the use of pins left small undesirable holes behind in the picture. Because of the holes, pin registration was not widely used commercially except when embossing was also employed; the irregular surface made alignment more difficult. Many embossed postcards have one to three pinholes in them. They were usually placed in areas where they would be inconspicuous.

Pioneer Cards
A pictorial postcard, authorized by the U.S. government, that was produced prior to the effective date, July 1, 1898, of the Private Mailing Card Act of May 19, 1898. Most images were printed on the back of government postals and could be mailed for one cent. Privately printed cards required two cents postage, which hampered their usage. The image could only appear on the front as the back was reserved for the address and stamp. Since there was no national distribution system for cards at this time, many were manufactured for local audiences by small printers and publishers that did not record their names on the cards. Pioneers were used for correspondence, souvenirs, advertising and other business activities.

Planographic
A printmaking process in which the printing and non-printing surface rests on the same flat plane that is not cut or incised by any means. Lithographs fall into this category.

Plastichrome
A trade name for the photochrome process as used on postcards published by Colorpicture. Usually labeled P Series.

Plate
A flat substrate, usually of metal, that holds an image that can be printed. Plates can vary in thickness so they can be rigid as used in most intaglio processes, or thin and flexible as in lithography. Intaglio plates are highly polished before use while plates for lithography must have a grain ground into them to mimic the quality of a litho-stone.

Plate Mark
An embossment surrounding a printed image, caused by the difference in height between the press bed and the printing plate under a single sheet of paper. It can be found on intaglio prints that were hand pulled from small plates. Commercial presses that utilized impression cylinders with a number of images on them did not create plate marks. As images are cut apart from large printed sheets no plate markings will be evident. Sometimes embossing was placed around an image after it was printed to create the illusion of an intaglio print (false intaglio).

Plate Tone
The tonal qualities of an intaglio image that are printed not from its incised lines, but from unwiped ink lying on the plate’s surface. Just prior to printing, the entire surface of an intaglio plate is covered with ink. If it is to be hand wiped as in fine art printing, rags or cheesecloth are employed to remove the excess ink from this surface. But this method of hand wiping cannot remove all the ink leaving behind a very thin film. Sometimes ink is purposefully pulled out of the incised lines while hand wiping to create unique tonal effects (retroussage). This provides each impression with its own individual look. In most commercial printing methods this excess ink us removed with the aid of a mechanical blade that wipes the surface completely clean. This speeds up the printing process and creates uniform prints.

Platen Press
A simple press where a printing plate or letterpress form is placed on the press bed and locked in position. Then grippers move single sheets of paper from the feeding stack to the heavy metal platen. Rollers apply ink to the plate on the press bed and then the bed and the platen are pressed together like a clamshell transferring the image onto the paper. When the platen and the bed spread apart, grippers remove the paper and place it in a tray. Platen presses were operated by pressmen and could be used in small shops. Smaller versions of this press that were developed in the United States are known as Jobbing Platens.

Platinotype (Platinum Print)
A process patented in England by William Willis in 1873, based on the iron salt chemistry of cyanotypes. As the iron salts are developed out of the emulsion, they are replaced by platinum added to the wash solution. This yields a matte finish with very subtle gradations of silver. A sepia toned version was later patented in 1878. The platinum imbeds itself into the paper, rather than lying on the surface as albumen and silver gelatin prints. These are some of the most durable of all photographs for they are not prone to fading. Almost half of the prints made by the great photographers at the turn of the century utilized this process, but it was also used for creating real photo postcards. During WWI platinum was reserved for wartime activities, and in the years that followed its cost rose greatly and its popularity declined. Because platinum prints needed to be contact printed they fell out of step with the growing trend of enlarging, and commercial manufacture of the paper was discontinued in 1937. There was a revival of hand made platinum prints in the 1960’s but they were never used for postcards again.

Pneumatic Mail
A method od delivering Correspondence in cylinders through airtight tubes propelled by air pressure. The exact mechanics of systems can vary but generally compressed air was used to create a differential in pressure that would both push and pull these cylinders through tubes at speeds up to 40 mph. Even though the telegraph sped up the delivery of messages, they still needed to be transcribed and written down, and the time lost was crucial in areas such as the trading of stock. The first Pneumatic mail system was built in London in 1853, followed by Berlin in 1865, and then Paris in 1866. This Technology eventually spread across Europe and to the United States. Philadelphia was the first American city to build a pneumatic system in 1893 with; Boston, Chicago, New York, and St. Louis to follow. Though originally conceived to replace the letter carrier by delivering mail to every individual home, the system proved expensive to operate and more costly to build. By the end of WWI all American systems were shut down except for New York, which ran its 55 miles of tubes until 1953. Prague was the last city to use pneumatic mail, closing their system in 2002 after 105 years of service. Only special sized postal stationary were allowed in most European tubes. The American systems employed larger tubes than those of Europe with cylinders capable of holding 600 letters, so no unique postals were created. Pneumatic systems are still widely used in large businesses. (See Pneumatic Mail Feb 22, 2007 in the Blog section)

Pochoir (French Stencil)
A method of adding color by hand though the use of cut stencils of paper or thin sheet metal as guides. Known since the Middle Ages this process was used to achieve subtle coloration on collotypes. It became most popular when creating flat patterns on Art Deco cards of the 1920’s. This stenciling method eventually evolved into the screenprinting process.

Poly-Chrome
A trade name for an early type of multi-colored postcard distributed by the American News Company in continuous tone lithography. Its colors are bright and so flat that they almost resemble screenprints. The poly-chrome process was almost exclusively used before 1907. These cards were printed in Germany. Other European publishers also used the same process but without the Poly-Chrome name. Poly-chromes were also printed in the United States during the First World War, with an M prefix and white borders, but these lithographic cards have a grained texture.

Polyester
Short for polyethyleen terephthalate. Products made from this stable plastic are safe to use with postcards. They are often found under the trade names Mylar D or Mellinex.

Polyethylene
A stable, flexible, transparent or translucent plastic. Products made from polyethylene are safe to use with postcards.

Polypropylene
A stable, stiff plastic with good transparent clarity. Products made from polypropylene are safe to use with postcards.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
A popular plastic used in a wide variety of products. It is unstable and emits hydrochloric acid as it ages. Postcards should never be placed in contact with this plastic as it will cause the card to yellow and turn brittle over time.

Postal Carditis
A term coined by John Walker Harrington in 1906 to describe the pathology caused by cranko-organisms leading to the faddy degeneration of the brain, and well exhibited in the behavior of hoarding postcards.

Postals
Usually a reference to postcards issued by a government with preprinted postage on their backs. The first U.S. postal was issued in May of 1873. For the most part the postal postage rate remained one penny until 1952. Publishers or advertisers would purchase postals in sheets and then print on them.

Post Card
An archaic spelling of postcard, used primarily in the early 20th century. Its use is still considered acceptable though rarely found.

Postcard Punk
A term used to describe someone with all the classic attire and accruements that were associated with the Punks of the late 1970’s such as leather jackets, torn clothing, piercings, and wildly dyed and spiked hair. The term also insinuates someone who is only posing as a Punk and is not one at heart.

Postmaster (Postmistress)
The government official in charge of a local Post Office. Before the consolidation of Post Offices into full time facilities many small communities had part time Postmasters whose main occupation would be running a store the Post Office was located in. Postmasters are usually given personal discretion in what they feel needs to be confiscated from the mail as inappropriate.

Post Office Department
A goverment agency established by the Continental Congress in 1775 At that time Benjamin Franklin was appointed the task of creating a system capable to move correspondence between the Colonies as they began to break their ties with England. After the Constitution was ratified in 1789 the United States Post Office became an official department of the new government to be run as a monopoly. There were 75 post offices in existance at this time. The Post Master General, a Cabinet position, headed the Post Office Department. The Department only transported mail between post offices and did not deliver mail to homes or businesses until 1863 when free city delivery was instituted. In 1902 free rural delivery became official policy, and in 1913 parcel post delivery became a service. By the 1960’s the Department was having difficulty meeting the demands of the public. The Department was abolished in 1971 and replaced by a new agency under the executive branch named the United States Postal Service. The position of Postmaster General’s was then removed as a Cabinet post. The Postal Service continues to retain the same monopoly on the delivery of regular mail.

Pressmen
A term traditionally applied to workers in a guild who operated hand presses. As presses were adapted to steam power pressmen continued to work them; but when cylinder presses emerged and became larger and more complex, a manager class of press operators emerged. They were paid more and formed a separate guild that often put them at odds with pressmen. As technology created more advanced presses, a general rise in skills was required for all workers involved in printing. In the 1890’s different types of workers in the print trades joined together to unionize.

Press Run
The totality of output from a press in one continuous printing. Because of the time involved in setting a press up for printing, and the time needed to clean up afterwards, a printer usually needs to print a minimum of 500 sheets to make a profit. For more complicated presses this minimum can be much higher. If a printer normally prints in high volumes (long runs), it may be too inconvenient to fit in a small order. Since the setting up of a press for printing is a large part of a cards expense, printing larger quantities brings down individual card cost. A retailer usually needed to sell half of the cards printed to break even on his investment. This often creates a reluctance in placing large orders despite the discounted cost. Some press runs are limited by the printing medium as different types of printing plates ware out at varying rates.

Primary Colors
The three colors of the visual light spectrum that can be combined to create all other colors. These colors can vary depending on the way they are to be use. When dealing with optical mixtures of wavelengths, red, green, and blue (RGB) are the additive primaries that produce white light. Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow (CMY) are the subtractive primaries used in printing. For the physical chemical mixing of most pigments the three primaries are blue, red, and yellow.

Printing Out (POP)
An aspect of certain photo papers where the full image will appear as the exposure is being made. No chemicals are needed for development as light energy alone produces the image. This paper only needed to be washed and fixed. The ability to end an exposure just as the image appeared perfect proved to be great advantage to photographers. For most of the 19th century all photo papers were printed out.

Private Mailing Card
A type of card mailed between July 1st, 1899 and December 23rd, 1901. These cards could be privately printed and mailed for one-cent or two cents overseas, ending the U.S. Post Office Department’s monopoly on postals. There were a number of unusual restrictions; they had to be made 3 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches, which was smaller than standard size, and the words Private Mailing Card - Authorized by act of Congress, May 19th, 1898 were required to be printed on the back of all cards, along with This side is exclusively for the address in the left corner. No messages were allowed on the back of these cards, only the address and the appllied postage. There were also color requirements as they could only be printed in light shades of buff, cream, or gray. A few publishers printed cards with the term Private Mailing Card prior to 1898 in anticipation of the Act but their size was too large causing many to be cut down. While a variety a different card types continued to be mailed in this period without penalty, many publishers went out of business because they could not afford to redesign their cards.

Process Camera
A camera with a special lens designed to photograph 2-dimensional objects and render them in high contrast. They come in vertical and horizontal models depending on the type of work to be done. They are most often employed in the production of halftones for printing plates. Before photographing an image a halftone filter is place in front of the camera’s lens. Different types of filters can reproduce an image in dots of varying sizes or same size dots in different densities of area. If the image is to be printed in color a series of photographs are taken with color filters to create four negatives for each CYMK color. Digital scanners have now replaced much of the work done by process cameras.

Process Print
Originally a description of a print that had no supplemental retouching or additions made to it such as hand coloring. The term was later applied to those photomechanical prints that could give the illusion of natural colors without retouching work added, and created from only three printed colors.

Process Printing (Process Color)
A printing process that produces the illusion of a full color image through the use of only three printing plates inked with primary colors. This process was originally used with RGB colors according to additive color theory. As color theory evolved in the 20th century the method switched over to the subtractive primaries. Four plates are made to hold the three primary subtractive colors, cyan, magenta, yellow, plus black (CMYK). When portions of the visible light spectrum are subtracted from white light, the remaining wavelengths combine and appear as color. When all three subtractive primaries are combined black should be formed. But chemical color pigments react differently than light energy; they cannot absorb all wavelengths and appear as a dark muddy brown instead. Because of the inability of inks to mix into an optical black, black ink needs to be added to create dark values. Fluorescent and metallic effects cannot be created by using CMYK colors; an additional spot plate needs to be added to the printing process if they are desired. The tricolor printing process was patented by Ducos du Hauron in 1868. Colors separations at that time were made from different black & photographs of the same subject taken through different color filters. Its cost and difficulty in matching pigmented inks to the color wavelengths captured prevented it from being widely used in commercial printing until the growth of offset lithography in the mid 20th Century.

Proof Sets
A type of postcard set issued by Raphael Tuck & Sons in a limited edition meant to appeal to the serious collector. These cards contained the same images as their regular cards, but these had gold borders and the word Proof was printed on them. Each set was issued with a certificate guarantying that they were from a limited first printing.

Pulp
Cellulose fiber suspended in water from which paper is made. The cellulose can come from wood, bamboo, cotton, esparto, hemp, flax, straw and various other organic materials that is extracted by beating, mechanical grinding, or by chemically means.

Punch Out Toy
A paper toy punched out of a postcard along die cut perforated edges. These were often dolls or images of animals.

Pyrography (Writing with Fire)
The art of burning designs or pictures into wood or leather. Pyrogaphy is more commonly referred to as woodburning or pokerwork. It is an ancient art form that was widely used on novelty postcards, especially where the material used was difficult to impossible to print on.