Antique & Art Deco TRAVEL Postcards

When travel was by train or ship - not by airplane - advertising postcards for travel excursions reached an artistic height with intense colors and fantastic images.  This post shares some circa 1910 travel poster-style postcards plus several art deco travel designs from the 1920s/1930s.  Travel poster-style postcards make a satisfying collection and an eye-catching display if you decide to frame and show some of your acquisitions.  

We begin with a French design for railway journeys to Bretagne.  Second is a stylish design for a vacation in Italy near the leaning tower at Pisa.  This postcard advertises a hotel for the traveler - with an elevator, bathrooms, a garage for visitors coming by automobile, and a restaurant. 

An especially fine artist-signed art deco postcard follows, advertising both railways and ships - Ch. de Fer & Paquebots - and showing well-dressed passengers boarding the ship.  In the background is a porter perched on top of a huge pile of luggage bound for a hotel - these folks didn't take weekend get-aways but packed for luxurious journeys lasting weeks or months.

This energetic vision of a huge cruise ship about to depart New York City shows the excitement of a long cruise, where just the send-off was an event.  Superb artwork and lots of vivid color light up this card.  All the postcards in this post are flat without embossing.   

Below is a beautiful postcard showing a soft Spring view of an excursion by train to a chateau in Normandy, with light reflections on the water and pale pink cherry blossoms.

There are some magnificent graphic art deco designs that offer a more modern flavor - these, too, would be superb framed and displayed.  If you have traveled to places you especially liked, or plan to travel to some new destinations, you may be able to find travel poster-style postcards to celebrate your own vacation favorites.  


We show two from Italy, one from Mexico.  The vivid colors, elegant designs and classic art deco lettering all add to the charm of these vintage travel advertising postcards. 

Price Estimates:  Travel postcards vary from seller to seller in price; some can be acquired as low as $10, while others may be listed at $15-$30 each.  You can find some bargains if you are willing to be patient and buy travel postcards in a group or "lot" from sellers who don't want to bother listing them individually.  As always, condition counts.  These prices are for postcards in excellent condition, and they are only estimates. 

SWASTIKA Good Luck Antique Postcards

The swastika was a good luck symbol long before the Nazis adopted it for use as a symbol of fascism.  Victorian postcards often include swastikas as messages of good luck.  In this post, we take a look at some examples of postcard Good Luck Swastikas.  All the postcards in this post date from about 1908-1918.

The poetry on the above postcard introduces us to the "ancient cross" as a symbol of "fortune's reign" and sends the recipient blessings.  This postcard has a golden swastika on top of a four-leaf clover, another long-established symbol of good luck that we often see on antique postcards.

This pretty lady is surrounded by a border of golden swastikas on a birthday postcard with fancy lettering and -  again  - green four-leaf clovers.  The artwork is signed HBG for the artist H.B. Griggs.

            

A New Year's card combines the swastika with holly berries and leaves, plus a snowy country scene to create a holiday image - Sent in all Sincerity - where the swastika stands for good luck without the greeting referring to the symbolism.  On the right are three birthday greetings from a pretty floral set, flowers bursting out of envelopes, enhanced with a golden border that has a swastika in each corner.  Rich embossing on this set, plus vivid colors, make the cards eye-catching.  Below is an enlargement of one of the cards in this bright birthday set.

Victorian greeting postcards that feature clasped hands indicate affection, as shown here with his-and-hers hands connected above golden textured hearts with forget-me-not borders.  Red swastikas at the top corners add another bright visual touch.  This card has rich embossing.  Below we have another greeting postcard with a large swastika - from a set that has a candy-colored border,  golden edge and scrolls on big bouquets of flowers.  This card also benefits from strong embossing.

  We close with a special swastika postcard where the image is surrounded by other positive symbols - a diamond inside a horseshoe at the top, hearts pierced together in Love, the earth representing Life, and a sunrise for Light.   This special card gives us a good look at how the swastika was used by the Victorian postcard designers to send good wishes across the miles.

Price estimates:  The pretty floral birthday cards must have been very popular because there are a lot of them available, so they are not expensive.  Other swastika cards vary from a few dollars to $10 or $12 depending on rarity.  The last card shown in this post is more difficult to find and can cost accordingly.  These prices are only estimates and they are for postcards in excellent condition.