St. Landry democrat., 1893-12-02
VARIOUS POSTAL CARDS.
Over 5000 Varieties Issued Through.
out the World Within Twenty-Five

Over 5000 Varieties Issued Through.
out the World Within twenty-five
Years.
1t seems almost incredible that there
should be 5000 varieties of postal cards,
bu: that is the extent claimed for the
Watson collection. These, however, in.
clude various issues of the same nation
and denomination, and also cards issued
for special occasions.
Postal cards have been in circulation a
little less than twcnty-four years, declares
the Collector. The idea originated with
DR.. Emanuel Hermann, a professor of
national economy at the Imperial Acad-
envy Of Weine:, in Ncustadt, Lower
Austria.
His ideas, under the head, Of "New
Means of Correspondence by Postal"
were published and attracted the atten-
ton of the Government officials. The
Director-Genera of Posts took up the
idea and succeeded in having an issue Of
post cards put in circulation in 1869.
The original anne given to them was
the Correspondent kartc," and this has
been retained ever since. This new move
N the part Of Austria quickly excited
other countries to adopt asimilar method
of correspondence, and before the close
of 1870 nearly all the European coun-
tries were using cards.
Germany was really the second coun.
try to use them, and a special series was
issued to the soldiers engaged in the
Franco-Germa war. These were called
the ticld-post correspondence cards, and
were sold unstamped to the soldiers at
the rate of five for a cent. The soldiers
had the privilege of using them without
paying postage. Another series was
issued for civilians. These had a place
left for a stamp, and the writer had to
affiX a German postage stamp to the card
before posting. The field post cards
are now rare, the used ones being
scarcer than the unused ones.
Another card of equal rarity, and also
a reminder of the same wal, is the balloon
postal card, issued by France during the
siege of Paris. The cards were sent up
from Paris in balloons, and the mail bags
were thrown off into the surrounding
country, where there was the least pos
sible opportunity of their capture by
the enemy. They were smaller than the
postal card now in use, and were covered
with warlike expressions, as ''Paris de6es
the cnemy!!' "Glory and conquest sig
nities crimes, defeat signifies hate and
q desire for vengoance;;" ''Only one war
is just and right-that for indepen-
dence."
The United States was rather back.
ward in adopting the postal card system,
and did not use them until 1873. The
issue printed was of reddish color,
with the head Of Liberty in the right
hand corner. AS a rule, Uncle SANS
cards have been inferior to those of
other countries in excellence of engrav-
The designs also have not been
very artistic. The llue card, bearing the
portrait of General Grant, is the finest
specimen of art work issued by the
United States Government.
Professor A. J.. Bubach, an attachc OF
the Imperial Nusauin of Berlin. who.
with nine trnsty men, has been making |
in Northern and Western
'razil, sends this extraordinary in
'orination to the directors Of the institu-
i II named a5cse: "Have had wonderful
uck. We already have over g. 900 un-
specimens in natural history, in.
Il snake 81 fest long, with long
:usks like a boar, md 2 born ? feet long
10 its forehead" 70