Customer Reviews

Vintage Postcards for the Holidays

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I guess being more a fan than a collector of postcards I have a different opinion than some of the reviewers who rated this book so low. Regarding prices, the fact is that on any collectible prices vary widely depending on your location and method of selling. As a long-time collector of toys and comic books, I can attest to that. Thus the criticism about pricing is completely invalid as this is merely a "guide" as any pricing guide is. I also would dispute the claim that many of the cards are in poor condition. Some are but the vast majority are not. We are talking about items that are in the neighborhood of one hundred years old so they are not all going to be in mint condition. I think the editors did a fantastic job of giving readers a very broad cross-section of types and styles of cards, regardless of condition.

Anyway, the book is organized by Holiday beginning with New Years Day. Each section has an introduction and history of cards for that particular holiday which I found to be very informative. For example we learn that Valentine's Day cards were actually the first holiday cards to be widely distributed beginning in the 17th century. And we also learn that the Easter Bunny dates back to 1700's Germany. The book cruises the calendar year hitting every holiday including Arbor Day, April Fool's Day, Memorial Day, etc...

The highlight for most collectors will be the Halloween and Christmas portions. Halloween cards are easily the most valuable and sought after for collectors and I do agree that the Halloween section is way too skimpy at twelve pages (not eight as another reviewer mentioned). Still even twelve pages is slight compared to Thanksgiving which gets some 40 pages. The Christmas section is broken up into Santa and non-Santa parts and again most collectors will be interested in the Santa cards as they bring far more value than the others.

While Postcards for the Holidays isn't a perfect book, it does it's job very well. The photography and post card reproductions are very clear and colorful and the book is produced on heavy, coated stock paper.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

I am really disapointed in the second edition because it is basically a repeat of the first edition. Although there are more pages in the second edition, this books shows the same postcards as the first edition. Also, the text is the same. It's like buying the same book only there are a few new postcards added. The authors did remove pictures of beat up postcards and replaced them with new cards they must have added to their collection, but they never changed the prices of what the cards are worth. Granted, the first book was published in 2002, and the second edition has a copyright of 2006, but every postcard collector wants to see their collection has increased in value-especially the Halloween cards. The values were not even increased by a dollar!The Easter section and Santa Claus sections are lengthier and the cover is attractive, but this is not my idea of what a second edition should be. The publishers and editors should have been more critical. There is not one Winsch or Schmucker card shown in any of the holidays and any collector knows, these are the cream of the crop, especially with Halloween cards. As much as I like the format and appreciate the book being in color, I was really upset not to see more new postcards and a change in postcard values. This shows lack of research and I feel like the book was hastily thrown together. Don't buy it if you own the first edition and hesitate about the second edition. I didn't think it was worth the price being charged.

Robert and Claudette Reed's Postcards For The Holidays, 2nd Edition arrived too late for more timely Christmas mention, but since holiday collecting is really a year-round occupation, it's not too late to mention the ongoing reference value of Postcards For The Holidays Identification & Value Guide, which appears in its 2nd updated edition. Pages come packed with color photos of seasonal cards organized by holiday along with current prices. The chapters each introduce with a history of manufacturers and approaches to further the educational teachings.