Chrome Postcards

1939–present

The long era of the hand-colored look on black-and-white photo postcards ended with the advent of “chrome” picture postcards. Although some color photographs were applied to linen stock cards, this means of reproduction was supplanted by printing on a slick, glossy stock, known to printers as a “chrome” finish.

The first postcards made using color photography, employing Kodachrome transparencies, came to be known as “Photochromes,” or “chromes” for short to collectors. Early experiments with photographic printing were not always successful, and could result in colors that seemed dull and monochromatic, or that were overly saturated. Sometimes dot printing registration was atrociously misaligned.

The picture postcards we send today are chromes. By around 1970, postcard sizes increased, closing the last chapter on the old 3-1/2 x 5-1/2 inch postcard.

Today, the collecting of postcards is immensely popular. Worldwide, the hobby ranks third in collecting, behind postage stamps and coins/currency. In the United States, the collecting of postal cards ranks fourth, after the addition of baseball cards.