Deltiology (from Greek , , diminutive of , , "writing tablet, letter"; and , ) is the study and collection of postcards. The word originated in 1945 from the collaboration of Professor Rendell Rhoades (1914-1976) of Ohio and colleagues at Ohio State University. A biographical sketch of Dr. Rhoades life by his wife Nancy, was provided to the Canadian Friends (Quaker) Historical Association in 1994. Dr. Rhoades had responded to a contest by Editor Bob Hendricks in Post Card Collectors Magazine to create a more scholarly name for the hobby of postcard collecting. 'Philocartist' was a term used in the early 1900s, possibly coined by the noted early philatelist Fred Melville in his 1903 publication The A.B.C. of Stamp Collecting
In Vol. 3, No. 1, January 1945, the headline of Post Card Collectors Magazine read: "Official P.C. Name Disclosed thru Research" and continued "Thru the splendid efforts of careful research by Rendell Rhoades, (of Blanchester, Ohio) the authentic and official name of the Postcard Collectors has been discovered. Mr. Rhoades is Research Associate for the Ohio State University and upon being challenged to find a name for the Postcard Collectors thru several contests held by this magazine as well as by William Morris of New York City, he contacted Dr. K.M. Abbott and Mrs. Ethel Miller, two well-known authorities on word formation." They identified a word from the Greek language: "deltion" meaning small illustrated tablet, or card."
However, it took about twenty years for deltiology/deltiologist to first appear in a dictionary. Compared to philately, the identification of a postcard's place and time of production can often be an impossible task because postcards, unlike stamps, are produced in a decentralised, unregulated manner. For this reason, some collectors choose to limit their acquisitions to cards by specific artists and publishers, or by time and location.
History
Deltiology appeared at the end of the 19th century, when the mass production of postcards began and received international distribution as the cheapest type of postal items. The first postcard was published in 1869, and by 1875, 231.5 million open letters were sent in the member countries of the Universal Postal Union.
In the late 19th to early 20th centuries the first organizations of deltiologists appeared. Special magazines and catalogs began to be published (in Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia, Great Britain, the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, etc.), international exhibitions took place (in Leipzig, Saint Petersburg, Nice, Paris, Florence, Nuremberg, London, etc.), congresses of collectors and postcard publishers (in Leipzig - 1896, 1910; in Nice - 1899), the first auctions began to be held.
Since the beginning of the 20th century deltiology has become one of the most popular types of collecting facilitated by the mass production of postcards of diverse topics (geography, ethnography, history, various types of art, technology, sports, portraits, etc.) and of high-quality art and printings, and by postal exchange between countries which expanded significantly with the strengthening of international relations.
The initial views on deltiology were somewhat different from the ones we have today. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was believed that only a postcard that had been mailed, and thus “fulfilled its function”, could be a worthy collectible. Moreover, many collectors would only be interested in a postcard with a view of a city or locality if it had been mailed from that city or locality. A blank postcard without a postmark was equated to a simple “picture”. Today, however, some collectors actually ignore cards with writing on them.
Deltiology is one of the most popular types of collecting. Postcards are usually valued in proportion to their age and rarity of their subject. Recently, an increased demand for postcards has provoked an increase in prices. For example, the price of certain scarce or historically significant postcards at online auctions can reach $1000, while most postcards would not reach $5.
Identification
There are some general rules to determining when a postcard was printed. Postcards are generally sent within a few years of their printing so the postmark helps date a postcard. If the card is original and not a reprint, a postcard's original printing date can be deduced from such things as the fashions worn by people in the card, the era in which the cars on the street were made, and other time-sensitive clues. Postcards produced by the Curt Teich Company can be dated more exactly using the company printed date code on the view side or within the stamp box if visible.