Wish You Were Here — The Canadian Postal Museum celebrates the centennial of the picture postcard in Canada
Hull, Quebec, 12 November 1997 — For the inauguration of its new Collectors' Corner, the Canadian Postal Museum — which has welcomed more than 230,300 visitors since opening on June 12 — celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the picture postcard in Canada with the exhibition Wish You Were Here - One Hundred Years of Picture Postcards in Canada, opening November 13, 1997. The exhibition features 77 postcards, most dating from 1898-1904 — pioneer years for picture postcards in this country. Also featured are albums of postcards, books on the subject, archives and publications from collector's clubs and a rather eccentric personal notebook of a prolific postcard writer.
The ExhibitionThe Canadian government passed an amendment to the Post Act in 1897 that allowed private companies to produce picture postcards. This led to a democratic explosion of landscapes, drawings and photographs — images fell into the hands of the people. From that moment on, postcards featuring views of Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto or patriotic illustrations and allegories became common currency.
From its beginnings in 1889, this little rectangular cardboard, nicknamed "the little queen of the post" or "the poor man's telephone" caught on among Canadians and soon became a collector's delight. In 1900, Canadians sent 27,000 postcards. In 1908, the amount had climbed to 41 million, and by 1913, to 60 million. Impressive for a population of only 5.3 million in 1901, and 7.2 million in 1911.
According to the exhibition's guest curator Yves Beauregard, historian, well-respected postcard collector and director of the history magazine Cap-aux-Diamants, the passion for card collecting was born at the turn of the century, responding to a growing desire for knowledge among the general population. At the time, the rarity of cameras, telephones, radios and the absence of television left a wide-open space for postcards, and this inexpensive and attractive means of communication became immediately popular.
Outside of Europe, Canada was the first country to use first-issue postcards as early as 1871. The innovation of the postcard is attributed to an Austrian, Dr. Emmanuel Hermann, in 1869. The card of the time, called Stationery Card, consisted of a small, unillustrated rectangular card with a pre-printed stamp. Issued by the government, the card was circulated without an envelope and was aimed at facilitating commercial activities such as confirming an appointment, convening important public meetings, publicizing business reports, etc.
ActivitiesLet's Write! In the Canadian Postal Museum's Collectors' Corner, visitors can write and mail an already-stamped, personalized postcard in workshops made possible by Canada Post. The workshops take place December 20-21, 23-24, 26-28, 30-31 and February 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, and March 3-6 and 17-20, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The exhibition Wish You Were Here - One Hundred Years of Picture Postcards in Canada will be on display until November 2, 1998 in the Collectors' Corner of the Canadian Postal Museum at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull. The Collectors' Corner continues to fulfill its mission of offering prestigious philatelic and postal collections for viewing by the general public.
The CPM also proposes a small but interesting new exhibition which may surprise some visitors. The First Round through the Mail reveals a little known fact about how prohibition effected the postal service - mail order alcohol sales boomed in 1916 as soon as prohibition was declared.
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