postcard.co.uk

I have just received a couple of cards that i won on ebay that i thought were going to be real photo, just like the auction stated.
But nowhere on them does it state "real photo", although it does have the finish a real photo card would have.

Can anyone tell me then, if i have been mis-sold these cards.
And does a real photo have to state real photo ?

I look forward to a few of your thoughts with interest.

No most real photo cards do no have 'This is a Real Photo' on them.
In fact the better ones don't...

There are basically two types of real photo, those produced directly from an original negative usually by a local photographer often in small quantities and 'photomechanical' types....

Larger companies such as Valentines, Friths etc. mass produced real photographic cards. Various methods were used but basically.. an original print would be retouched, title added and this would then be recopied onto a negative. This copy negative - exactly postcard size, would be fitted into a machine and used to make multiple exposures on a roll of photographic paper by mechanical means, the paper would then be processed and individual postcards cut from the roll.

It's this 'mass produced' type of card that's usually identified as a 'real photo' by the publisher - though to some purists they are not actually real photographs at all, as they are in effect a second generation photograph, often contrasty, lacking the clarity and tonal trange of the original and sometimes retouched extensively.

With experience you'll be able to identify real photographic cards by the appearance and clarity. Some printed cards were also given a glossy finish however, so the only way to tell for certain is under slight magnification, where a printed card will nearly always show a dot pattern (screen).

Many thanks Michael for your reply, i found that very interesting.
I have now learnt something else about our great hobby.
So maybe the cards i have bought are real photo cards.

Thanks again Michael.

Be careful! alot of cards get described on ebay as RP's that arent. Usually just good detailed printed cards. I've even seen colour cards described as real photos.

Must be difficult learning the hobby, buying online. When you go to fairs as a novice you get chance to view thousands of examples and ask dealers or other collectors there opinions.

I confess that in eleven years of collecting I have vaguely wondered only once or twice what a "Real Photo" card is; now I know, thanks to Michael. But does it really matter if a card with a photo on it is or isn't a RP? Does this in itself affect the value? Obviously a genuine RP of which 20 or 30 copies have been run off is scarcer than a photo-mechanical one produced in hundreds by a large company, but most collectors are interested only in the image, not how it was produced?


Moonraker

[quote="Moonraker"]... most collectors are interested only in the image, not how it was produced?
Moonraker[/quote]
My thoughts exactly.

No i disagree, surely a true real photo is more valueable and collectable that has only 20 or 30 of, than a photo that has thousands printed.

I for one know which i would rather have in my collection.

But thats my opinion, great to hear all your comments...

Davy: One would think so, but I've never been aware of any difference in prices asked, certainly with Wiltshire army camp cards: these were published by the many local photographers whose output was mainly RPs (I presume), and also in quantity by several national companies. I suppose a large company was more likely to run off large numbers of quite bland photographs, leaving the more original (and collectable) work to the local men.


Moonraker

THE beauty / appeal of photo pcs is the extra detail which can be picked up. They reproduce well even if enlarged many times. Also, as stated, before "Full Photos" (without the white border) were invariably produced by a small busines or lone photographer so numbers will be low. There's nothing like an RP, postally used from the location with an appropriate message!

I always got the impression from photograph dealers that postcards were just for the "junior" end of the image collecting world. With Real Photo Postcards changing hands for serious money perhaps they may change their minds!
Good luck~rppc