Metropolitan Postcard Club
of New York City

The Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City carries on the traditions of the old Metropolitan Post Card Collectors, the oldest continuously run postcard club in the United States since 1946. Not only facilitating the exchange of postcards between collectors and dealers, the club is dedicated to the free exchange of information and ideas to further the understanding of Deltiology.

At the beginning of the 20th century a perfect storm arose between the growing forces of technology and economics that created the Golden Age of Post Cards. It marked a major paradigm shift in which postcards moved from being a means of correspondence to a collectable item. More cards were produced and collected on a worldwide basis during those years than any other point in history. It is these cards in particular that are the most sought after by today’s collector.

Modern postcard collecting must be considered more than a mere compulsion to accumulate meaningless objects in our overly consumer driven society. The range of topics covered by cards is enormous; the quality of artistic and technical skills employed are outstanding. There is interest in postcards because to study their history is to study the combined history of printing, photography, and art to which they are all integrated. There is interest in postcards because they give insight into the society that chose these specific images to reproduce. There is interest in postcards because not only do they provide a pictorial record of the way we lived, but they help us understand who we are. And there is interest in postcards because many are just very beautiful. In the end there are probably as many reasons to collect cards, as there are collectors.

This site is directed toward the novice and professional, collector and dealer alike. Knowledge can be a valuable tool to those with interest in postcards on all levels. Although the Internet has become a great source and method of disseminating information, it has also become a place were factual errors are copied and repeated over again. Much information available is also very myopic in outlook. Here a broader approach will be taken to give a more comprehensive understanding of postcards. We also encourage the postcard community as a whole to contribute to this site by sharing information that will enrich us all.

There are seven other parts to this site, a comprehensive illustrated history of postcards, an in depth glossary with postcard guides to a variety of subjects, information on publishers and printers, examples of postcard topics available to collect, a blog with special articles, reviews, and reprints of supplements from our printed bulletin, a calendar of club events and upcoming showsalong with important news, and a contact page with membership information and links to related sites. This is a living web page, ever increasing its content, and enhancing that already posted.

The Metropolitan Postcard Club is a very large organization with many points of view. Although most of the content of these pages are meant to present helpful facts and be free of editorial, it must be stated that history is subject to interpretation and is approached with certain biases. All content contained within should be attributed to the Webmaster and contributing writers and not considered to represent the Club as a whole. Although efforts will be made not to print unsubstantiated fact, not all of the information posted here is based on original research and is subject to error.

While some may find an occasional card posted on this site offensive, they are here only to illustrate the true nature of postcard production. History cannot be properly understood if we are selective of what we wish to remember. Postcards do not always reflect reality as well as they give insights into the different ways we have perceived realty over time. This is their gift to us whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.

This website has been designed and developed by Alan Petrulis, and all postcards are from his personal collection or borrowed by permission from the members of the Metropolitan Postcard Club. Alan Petrulis is responsible for all content unless otherwise noted, and this content is copyrighted and should not be borrowed without reference to source.