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N - Topicals

Names - While cards with the names of individuals printed on them were not common, they did have a niche audience. They may have been purchased by someone with the same name but were more likely to be sent out as greeting cards. All sorts of items containing first names continue to be sold to this day.

Napoleon - The years of the postcard’s Golden Age also corresponded with many hundredth anniversaries of Napoleonic events. Napoleon at that time was still a figure larger than life and the military campaigns of his time were commonly referred to as The Great War. Many postcards were made in these years that reproduced works of art depicting Napoleon and the battles he fought. While those published in France tend to show Napoleon in a heroic light, those originating from Countries victimized by French imperialism often emphasize the more tragic elements of this time.

National Parks - In a county lacking a long recorded history, the natural beauty of our land became a major source of pride. The first National Park was founded in 1872 and as they grew in number they became a focal point of national tourism turning them into icons. The Grand Canyon, Glacier, Crater Lake, Yellowstone, and Yosemite parks received the most attention by postcard publishers who were often the railroad lines that serviced them.

Natural Freaks - This genre includes any plant or animal that exists in a form contrary to normal expectations, except if appearing in humans. Genetic mutations account for most of these depictions in animals. The most common depiction of natural freaks however is that of trees. While some of these strange variances are caused genetically, most are just adaptations to their growing in unusual circumstances. There seems to be an innate tendency to segregate out the abnormal as curiosities.

Naval - Many postcards were produced depicting naval vessels from all seafaring nations of the world. Scenes of Navy yards, life aboard ships, and their wartime service can also be found. Naval cards were common since the pioneer period but the establishment of onboard post offices in 1908 increased the production of these images dramatically. These cards were popular early on among men who deemed them a serious enough subject to collect.

Nazi - While most associate Nazis with World War Two, cards depicting the war itself should be considered a category of its own or at least fall under the classification of military. Nazi cards consist mostly of propaganda, both pro and con, that followed the rise of the National Socialist German’s Worker Party from 1920, through the founding of the Third Reich in 1934, and to its end in 1945. Some loosely consider anything with a Nazi swastika on it to fall into this category.

Night - As our cities began to fill with the electric light the public became fascinated with this new technology and scenes of illumination found their way onto postcards. Because of the difficulties of photographing at night, most scenes were shot during the day then adjusted by a retoucher to look like night. Other scenes that turned dark due to extremely high contrast when photographed were also often passed off as night scenes. More traditional moonlit scenes also fit in here.

Nightmares - While there are few cards depicting nightmares, and those that do can usually be filled under comic or fantasy cards, they none the less represent the darker side of human nature. Even in societies that glorify all that is light, the dark remains present and often attains a special attraction. No matter how we view these cards there has always been enough of an interest in these sorts of topics to have made them worthwhile printing.

Nudes - Pictures of nude women were amongst the earliest imagery to find their way onto postcards and some of the most sought after. Because censors destoyed millions of nude postcards and they continue to be banned from the mail it is difficult to ascetain a full and accurate history of them. Despite continual efforts to eliminate these cards they have always been published due to high demand and remain popular among collectors today.

Number Games - Many postcards were published where the title becomes a play of words on numbers or a poker hand. While many of these cards are comic in nature, many would pass for an ordinary view-card if not for the narrative.