SPECIES POSTCARD AS A NEW TYPE OF POSTAL ITEM AND ITS IMPACT ON GLOBAL AND REGIONAL CULTURAL PROGRESS
Authors:   Mariupol State University, Afanasieva N. 
Published: September 2024

The article outlines the importance of the species postcard as a photodocumentary source of research of urban culture and urbanism. It is noted that the postcard today is both a potential museum object, as well as a tool for the museumification of urban architectural heritage, a source of research on the culture and history of Ukrainian cities. The peculiarities of scientific research devoted to philokarty are emphasized - mainly it is coverage of the problems of the development of a postcard as a printing product, a design object, a printed product. At the same time, the history of the emergence of postcards in the world and on the territory of Ukraine is paid only insignificant attention. The article considers the process of emergence of postcards and introduction of postal card into postal circulation. It is noted that the appearance of species postcards, in particular photo documentary postcards, was a cross-sectoral achievement - this was facilitated by the development of exact sciences, which in turn influenced the printing art and the development of photography. The distribution of the leaflet and its relevance in the world were caused by the active development of international relations and the economy, the strengthening of international звʼязків, as well as, undoubtedly, the development of writing among citizens. The first attempts to create and use a new type of correspondence in different countries are described, in particular in France, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, and the United States of America. Examples of "prototypes" of the postcard are given: the products of the Frenchman Demaison, the New Year cards of the Briton Dobson, the national "card" of Great Britain, etc. The main historical episodes of reforming the post office, changing the type of postal items are outlined. Considered the legislative aspects (1860-1870s), which influenced the introduction into circulation and approval of the form of open type letters, in particular the lifting by the US Congress of the ban on sending postcards made by hand in February 1861, the introduction into circulation of the first open letters in Austria-Hungary (October 1869), development of a postcard project by the German post office (June 1870), the adoption of a law on the state production of postcards in the United States of America (June 1872). The compositional features of postal cards are emphasized. The main elements of the first postcards are considered, in particular the division the reverse side into two parts (before 1904 and after), inscriptions and overprints, etc. It is noted that the placement of the photo on postcards was the culmination of the development of the postcard, which went from "cut pieces of cardboard" to a photodocumentary source. It is noted that the postcard in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries became not only a means of transmitting information, but also a tool for studying complex historical and cultural processes, the history of national development and regional development, urban landscapes and social phenomena. Key words:: postcard, postal card, photodocumentary sources.