Postcards Were The E-Mail of the 1920s

Joe May is quoted in an article that appears on Illinois' Forest Park Review website as saying, "The postcard was the e-mail of the 1920's..as an example, a postcard that was mailed from Chicago to Maywood on a Friday in that era. The card was postmarked by the Maywood PO that same day. The urgent message was that the sender couldn't come to Sunday dinner."

May points out in the article by John Rice that postcards were popular from 1910 to the late 1920's but the telephone ended their heyday. "Postcards are still in use today, but mostly by vacationers wishing to make their friends envious," according to May.

May, a retired furniture-store manager, used to collect postage stamps, but now he belongs to the Windy City Postcard Club.

"Most of the postcards May has depict local churches, schools and businesses. Some were used by businesses and organizations as a way to communicate with potential customers, members or donors - similar, in concept, to the blast emails and newsletters of today," writes Rice.

To read the entire article, click here.