By John Fischer III
Golf postcard subjects cover anything related to the game — courses, clubhouses, famous personalities of the game, humor, advertising and holidays. I have attached three Valentine’s Day postcards from my collection which I thought you would find enjoyable and if, JUST IF, your forgot to get a card for your significant other, print out one of the attached cards and you’re covered for this year.
The first card of a young boy with his clubs over his shoulder in a wicker golf bag was printed by the Art Manufacturing Co. of Amelia, Ohio, which went out of business in 1915. Until 1907 in the United States only an address was allowed on the back of the card, but this one has a “divided back” for address and message which dates the card between 1907 and 1915.
The second card of the lithe young lady at the top of her swing and surrounded by a heart of embossed colored flowers bears a copyright of 1909 by the publisher, H. Wessler, and is postmarked 1910, so we clearly know its age.
The third card of the young girl holding her golf clubs and bag and surrounded by a red heart has an undivided back so we know it is pre-1907.
These cards might appear to be rare because of their age. However from 1900 until 1914, postcards were wildly popular and could be mailed for a penny. The messages were short and their use was not unlike email or Twitter today. In 1905 over one billion postcards were mailed in the United States and five billion in the world. Many postcards were collected and ended up in albums. Germany produced the finest lithographed cards, and the beginning of World War I saw the drop off in postcard popularity.
Not strictly postcards, the following are similar golf-themed Valentine’s cards submitted by GHS members.
The golf theme was not lost on early artists who recognized the potential for love and courtship around the game. Below are two themes from artist Charles Dana Gibson.
