Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger, postcard, end of 19th century.
Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger, postcard, end of 19th century. Swiss National Museum

Picture postcards, the postman’s favourite mail

Some people collect stickers of star footballers, others prefer the foil tops on cream pots. Liny Picard hoarded picture postcards. How fortunate for posterity, as these cards allow us to take a look at Switzerland at the turn of the 20th century.

Andrej Abplanalp

Andrej Abplanalp

Historian and communications chief of the Swiss National Museum.

Liny Picard (1885–1974) began collecting Swiss picture postcards at the tender age of eleven. She amassed some 700 cards from the period between 1896 and 1909. After her schooling in Zurich, Liny attended a girls’ boarding school in Neuchâtel and then a domestic science school in Herisau. The friendships she made in both places are reflected in mutual postcard greetings. Many cards in the collection demonstrate the picture postcard boom around the start of the century in an exemplary fashion.
Greetings from the Rhine Falls. The postcard was sent in 1898.
Greetings from the Rhine Falls. The postcard was sent in 1898. Swiss National Museum
In 1902, there were 22 million picture postcards sent in Switzerland. Eight million of these had been produced in our own country. This made Switzerland the European record holder for picture postcard deliveries. The picture postcard fever which broke out at the end of the 19th century gripped all sections of the population and was directly associated with the blossoming tourist industry. Thanks to the expansion of the rail network, lower fares and rising incomes, more and more people were able to travel. In doing so, they came across magnificent station buildings, post offices and grand hotels, which dominated the cityscapes and were popular subjects for the picture postcards. It became almost mandatory to send greetings home, and this also pleased the postman, who was able to enjoy the lovely views as well.
Postcard to Liny Picard, 1898.
Postcard to Liny Picard, 1898. Swiss National Museum
Prior to the introduction of the telephone, post was delivered several times a day. So, it is not surprising that even appointments at short notice were arranged by picture postcard. These days, meetings are certainly no longer organised by postcard, but as a colourful holiday greeting the postcard remains far from redundant. Especially since people can now send postcards they have created themselves using various apps. So, enjoy the summer holidays and write a postcard (again). The postman will thank you for it.

Published on: 14.07.2017

Modified on: 22.02.2022

URL: https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2017/07/picture-postcards-the-postmans-favourite-mail/

More of: 20th / 21st centuryTourismSocietyCulture

Further posts

Graubünden: the canton that said no to the motorcar

Dominik Landwehr 19.06.2024 Cars were banned in the canton of Graubünden from 1900 to 1925. It took nine popular votes to change that.
People were far from convinced by the motor car in the early 20th century. Especially in Graubünden. Young motorists on a main road, circa 1913.

Emmanuel Schmid: coachman to the social elite during the Belle Époque

Peter Egloff 10.08.2023 Coachman Emmanuel Schmid from Graubünden regularly drove his famous passenger Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen around the Alps in the late 19th century.
On the banks of Lake Achen, Austria, in September 1890: Bertha and Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen in Emanuel Schmid’s horse-drawn carriage.

The whole country is skiing! The whole country…?

Simon Engel 13.01.2021 For years, Switzerland has celebrated itself as a nation of skiers. Where does this self-image come from? Is it more of a myth, or more of a reality?
Switzerland – a nation of skiers: How much is reality? How much is myth?