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Postcards from Lambton County

Cell phones and social media make it incredibly quick and easy to send photos and messages from anywhere in the world. One hundred years ago most people did not have easy access to a telephone, but mail service was relatively fast, frequent, and inexpensive. Thousands of postcards were sent from Lambton County to satisfy people's desires for rapid communication. Many bore simple greetings such as “hello” or “I arrived safely,” while others were full of information.

The first postcards were issued in Austria in 1869. In 1871 Canada followed suit; Canada Post Cards were pre-stamped and cost one penny. In December, 1903, postcard popularity exploded with the innovation of the divided-back picture postcard. This new format opened up endless creative possibilities. Advances in photography, printing, and the ability to add colour, led to the production of highly attractive and collectible postcards. Postcard collecting is called deltiology. The Lambton County Archives has a large collection of postcards from all across the county.

Postcards are a rich source of information for researchers and genealogists. Images provide visual details about places, people, and events. Names, addresses, and relationships can be determined for senders and receivers. Date and location can be derived from the message, postmark, stamp, postcard publisher, or photography studio. Messages can be informative, confusing, intriguing, or disappointingly brief.

The outbreak of the First World War cut off access to high quality European printers. New postcards were printed in North America, often with poorer quality images and white borders to reduce image size and expense. The Golden Age of postcards was coming to an end. In 1939 the first natural colour postcards were made from Kodachrome film. These became popular after the Second World War, but by that time the telephone was taking over as the preferred method of fast communication and postcards took on the role of travel souvenirs.