On Indian Postcards

Hello Everyone!

My name is Aayushi Gupta and I am a graduate student at the University of Oxford. I have managed to transform my passion and enthusiasm for postcards into a research project for which I am examining how the value of postcards – and specifically Indian (or even broadly foreign) postcards – is constructed. I am looking to start a conversation here, and perhaps hear from anyone with even the slightest interest in dealing/collecting this material, and/or anyone who knows anything about it.

I am really looking forward to hearing from you!

With best wishes,
Aayushi

Well, the value is quite simple: it's as high or lower as a buyer wants to pay. The main aprt of the price is is the rareness of motive, and (for less important, for some more) the good condition of the card, for some collectors also the kind of stamp and postmark used. If an important person sent or received the card, that may be a plus (but it is very rare). There's really not much more to it, I'm afraid.

Greetings
cassander_thucelius

Thanks so much for your response! What do you mean by rareness of motive and how do dealers and collectors determine this? How do we know what's rare and therefore ought to be expensive? Also, do you think the criteria that you outlined above applies to all postcards generally? Or, do they differ with specific categories of postcards?

cards showing Zeppelins or the Titanic are always more valuable, even if repro, "collectors" don't have to think about them, rather like FDC's, perhaps they don't want to miss out on something that MIGHT be valuable one day! Anyway they think it adds to their collection! (even if they don't belong to a club and never show their collection) Of course their collection might be sold cheaply by whoever inherits it (when they die) but don't worry, someone may buy it who might expand it, join a club and show it! Of course whoever inherits THEIR collection may sell it cheaply... and so it goes on!
You MAY increase the value of some cards by research (like my cards of "submarines on the Thames by Tower Bridge 1909") but from my experience most sellers will not notice this and still sell the cards at low prices! I have a few Indian cards in my "accumulation" ,probably "ethnic" but they're not one of my "themes" I do have a few Darjeeling Railway cards in my collection of spiral railways but these were bought fairly cheaply without the seller realising my purpose. I also have a small collection of Indian cards written by one chap who eventually after serving in India for years was killed within 2 weeks of going to France in WWI! Usually it seems Indian cards are bought and sold in this fashion, without the seller realising why the buyer wants them, There are always sellers who overprice their cards in the forlorn hope that someone will buy at the inflated price, Indian sellers are no different to many, they're all out to make a buck or 2! and Indian buyers usually have this in mind when they buy.
In closing I always maintain that Delcampe is a collectors site, you can usually find what you want at a reasonable price (many sellers are not "pros" just collectors trying to get rid of "stuff"!) whereas on E bay you might find the same item at a reasonable price but there are always lots of "chancers" out to "try it on" and sell sub-standard stuff at inflated prices!
Sorry if this doesn't help... much!

The most important thing in the determination of rareness and value is experience, I think.

A very easy ground rule: if you think of a certain city and have some images in mind immediately, it's very probable that a card of that is not expensice... (Eiffel Tower in Paris, Piccadilly Circus in London, Cologne Cathedral etc.) These are usually worth nothing or, say, 50 cents. But keep in mind: even then a detail view (like a corner of the restaurant of Eiffel Tower, or the organist at the organ of Cologne Cathedral) or some interesting addition (like a tramway or a street seller) may make thge card worth even more than you think.

It is different for all collectoin scopes. For example, I collect cards of theatres, concert halls and cinemas, and about the audience of those. Of some theaters that I have seen tens of thousands of postcards of the exterior, I have never seen a single one of the interior (e. g. Mannheim Nationaltheater or Opéra de Lyon). Of some, it is the opposite: I have never seen one of the exterior, but many of the interior.

Hence, it is difficult to give a formula for evaluation. A good indication are searches on Delcampe (if you exclude some absurd sellers like the one with the nickname my_postales that price all cards at much too high prices).

Wow Dave, this is an incredibly useful response! It's interesting how you mentioned that even though you tried to increase the value of certain cards in your collection via research and publication of the book, dealers still price these at the same low value! Do postcards need a larger scale institutionalisation to thus increase value? Perhaps what we consider as valuable postcards are not really seen in this way by other collectors and dealers in the postcard community?

What attracted you about the Darjeeling Railway cards that you bought? Was it a good photograph? Or were you collecting railways specifically?

Does Delcampe offer a different package to merchants than eBay? More protection from such inflation spams perhaps? Do you use either/or or both?

Thanks very much for your insightful response Cassander! I too have noted that experience seems to be a pretty strong determinant of value. What characterises this experience? What do postcards dealers/collectors need to know to gain this experience?

Aha! I didn't realise that sellers with nicknames like my_postales post their stuff at high prices! Do people usually use their real name for Delcampe usernames?

I bought the Darjeeling Railway card cos at that time I was collecting Spiral Railways!
I'm afraid I jump from subject to subject in my collecting, as long as its cheap!
My biggest collection is of Central London cards, cos dealers often sell them cheap and altho living in Cornwall for 25 years I think I know London better!
I have for instance lots of cards of Trafalgar Square but noticed yesterday that in the corner of one they appear to be pulling Morleys Hotel down which they did before building Africa House, but who cares apart from me?
I occasionally buy on Ebay but it is mostly Delcampe as I said its a collectors site.
I don't think we look carefully enough at cards but I also have collections of where I live(d) which you do tend to look at closely. If you look at Picture Postcard Magazine (or is it Collecting, I forget which!) they prefer cards that tell a story, not little hard-to-see details!