Carte Postale : A French Souvenir that Fits in a Suitcase

When I visited France with a group of women, shopping was high on our list of activities. 

If I could do it over again, I'd probably buy more goodies but, at the time, 

I had a very small suitcase and an even smaller budget.

So I bought old postcards.

Beautiful images of France caught in time.

But not just any touristy postcards. I bought postcards with history.
Here's an old black and white postcard of Notre Dame's famous rose window,
just as dramatic as today's cards that reveal its brilliant colors.

As I scoured the markets for old postcards,
I remembered reading that the first printed picture postcard with an image on one side
was actually in France in 1870.

These cards had no space for stamps and no evidence they were ever mailed,
at least not without an envelope.
Wikipedia had told me these postcards were of Camp Conlie,
a training camp for soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War.

You can't find that kind of history on a rack of shiny new postcards
although the artwork is gorgeous. 

When I returned home, I chose four of the old postcards to frame 

(the timeworn leather frame came from Goodwill for a couple of dollars).

I think it looks perfect in this vignette in my office.

A little side table is a fun way to showcase old postcards under glass.
(The table was an estate sale score!)

The pictures on the front of these old postcards are so evocative and . . .

the handwriting on the back is beautiful.
Can anyone read what it says?

.

What's a postcard from Paris without an image of the Eiffel Tower? 

The tower was completed around 1890 and postcards featuring it gave rise
to the "golden age" of picture postcards.

Oh, yes. There were other famous postcards from France. 

In fact, they were called "French" postcards since most of these pictures of nude women 

were produced in France. 

This one is not as naughty than most of them.

You can date old postcards by noticing specific things in the pictures. 

For instance, if the picture includes motorcars, it probably is no older than the early 1900s 

when cars became more commonplace. 

This one shows horse-and-buggy traffic on the Champs Elysees. 

Fashions, building styles, street names of famous people, war memorials, handwriting style, 

black and white or hand colored are all ways to date an old card.

This is a dreamy new postcard of an old scene . . .
a lovely reminder of an incredible trip to a romantic city. 

Old postcards or cartes postales are an easy way
to bring a little French history home in your suitcase.

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