The beginnings of postcards in Europe and in Polish lands
Postcards – these small cards with a photo or illustration and a short message – have accompanied many generations of Poles as a form of communication, souvenirs from travels, and collectible items. Although today their role in daily communication has diminished due to electronic media, they have a rich and interesting history in Poland.
The first postcards appeared in Europe in the second half of the 19th century as a simple form of correspondence – cheap, without an envelope, and with space for a short note. We owe them, among others, to Austria, from where they spread to other countries as early as the 1870s.
In Polish lands, postcards began to appear at the end of the 19th century, during a time when the territory of the Republic was under partitions. They were often referred to as correspondence cards ("Korrespondenzkarte") and were used both for sending short messages and for advertising or tourism purposes.
The emergence of the Polish term "postcard"
Although the form of a card with an illustration had been adopted earlier, the Polish term "postcard" was born in 1900. During the First Postcard Exhibition in Warsaw, over 16,000 voters decided that the new Polish equivalent of "correspondence card" should be "pocztówka". The author of the winning proposal turned out to be Henryk Sienkiewicz, although he submitted it anonymously. Other proposals in the competition included "open letter," "wiadomostka," or even "letter aversion" – however, "pocztówka" won and permanently entered the Polish language.
The golden age of postcards
In the first decades of the 20th century, postcards gained enormous popularity. They were commonly sent from vacations, trips to the mountains, to the sea, or to cities. For many Poles, they were a way to send greetings to loved ones and share images of places they visited – often before postcards featuring local themes and views of well-known locations were created.
After World War I and the regaining of independence in 1918, postcard production continued to grow. During the interwar period, they also served as important carriers of visual information: showcasing city panoramas, monuments, landscapes, and scenes from everyday life.
Postcards in the post-war period and the PRL
In the post-war years, especially during the PRL period, postcards became not only a means of communication but also a form of artistic expression and a tool of propaganda. Many of them depicted landscapes, architecture, patriotic and holiday themes. Characteristic were the rich illustrations by well-known Polish artists, as well as mass publications – e.g., Christmas cards or those related to important social and cultural events.
Postcards today
Although in the age of the internet and messengers postcards are no longer a primary means of communication, they remain popular as souvenirs from travels, collectible items, and design elements. Today they often accompany special philatelic editions or appear in the offers of the Polish Post, which still issues cards on the occasion of anniversaries, cultural events, and regional celebrations.
Cultural significance
Postcards – thanks to their pictorial nature – are a rich source of knowledge about the past, material culture, ways of traveling, and the way generations have viewed the world. For historians, collectors, and nostalgia lovers, they are not only carriers of greetings but also small windows to the past.
