Dating photochrom postcards

How many photochrom postcards were made?

The Detroit Photographic Company reportedly produced as many as seven million photochrom prints in some years, and ten to thirty thousand different views were offered. After World War I, which ended the craze for collecting photochrom postcards, the chief use of the process was for posters and art reproductions.

What is Photochrom?

Photochrom, Fotochrom, Photochrome or the Aäc process is a process for producing colorized images from a single black-and-white photographic negative via the direct photographic transfer of the negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic variant of chromolithography (color lithography).

When did Photochrom photography become popular?

The photochrom process was most popular in the 1890s, when true color photography was first developed but was still commercially impractical. In 1898 the US Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which let private publishers produce postcards. These could be mailed for one cent each, while the letter rate was two cents.

How much did a postcard cost in 1898?

In 1898 the US Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which let private publishers produce postcards. These could be mailed for one cent each, while the letter rate was two cents.

How many photochrom prints were made?

Publishers created thousands of photochrom prints, usually of cities or landscapes, and sold them as postcards. In this format, photochrom reproductions became popular. The Detroit Photographic Company reportedly produced as many as seven million photochrom prints in some years, and ten to thirty thousand different views were offered.

When were photochrom postcards invented?

These were later replaced by linen postcards in the 1930s and 1940s, which used a printing process popularized by Curt Teich. Finally, the modern era of Photochrom (often shortened simply to chrome) postcards began in 1939, and gained momentum around 1950.

Who invented the Photochrom printer?

The Swiss company Orell Gessner Füssli was the employer of Hans Jakob Schmid, who invented the process. In the USA the Detroit Photographic Company printed up to 7 million Photochrom printers per year. The third licensee was the Photochrom Company of London.

When did the picture postcard become popular?

Images of the newly built Eiffel Tower in 1889 and 1890 gave impetus to the postcard, leading to the so-called golden age of the picture postcard. This golden age began slightly earlier in Europe than the United States, likely due to a depression in the 1890s.