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In philately
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is pos ...
, a lettercard or letter card is a postal stationery
A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related se ...
item consisting of a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp. That it is folded over gives the writer twice as much room for the message compared with a postal card. The message is written on the inside and the card is then folded and sealed around the edges. The recipient tears off and discards the perforated selvages to open the card.
The lettercard was first conceived by a Hungarian named Akin KarolyVan Gelder, Peter J.; ''The Collectors' Guide to Postal Stationery'', A Squirrel Publication (1997) and introduced in Belgium in 1882. Private issues were used in Great Britain in 1887.Mackay, James. ''Philatelic Terms Illustrated''. 4th edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2003, p.78. . The first official British letter card was issued in 1892. In Newfoundland ''reply lettercards'' were introduced in 1912 which included a small reply card.
Letter cards were issued in a variety of card stock and colour. As with adhesive stamps, a perforation gauge will be a useful tool of the trade.
The terms ''Letter Card'' or ''Air Mail Letter Card'' were sometimes used on aerogram
An aerogram, aerogramme, aérogramme, air letter or airletter is a thin lightweight piece of foldable and gummed paper for writing a letter for transit via airmail, in which the letter and envelope are one and the same. Most postal administration ...
mes prior to 1952, the year that the U.P.U.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
gave official recognition of the word ''aerogramme''. But for aerograms, those terms are misleading. The use of the word "card" implies a heavier card stock when, in fact, many of these "cards" were printed on light paper and were letter sheets instead of letter cards.
See also
* Letter sheet *Aerogram
An aerogram, aerogramme, aérogramme, air letter or airletter is a thin lightweight piece of foldable and gummed paper for writing a letter for transit via airmail, in which the letter and envelope are one and the same. Most postal administration ...
* Postcard
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
References
External links
{{commons category, Lettercards Philatelic terminology Postal stationery