Our search functions for postcards and graphic contain two input fields.
Behind each of these fields hides another search algorithm: The place search on one hand, and the text search on the other.
If you enter a place, a place search will be performed. If you enter a text, a text search will be performed.
If you enter both, the search will be combined: First, a place search will be performed, from which you can choose one of the resulting places. Subsequently, a text search with the entered search term will be performed, but exclusively at the previously selected place.
We recommend to first use only one of the two algorithms. If the number of existing postcards or graphic from a specific place is too high, try to narrow the place search, for example by entering a city instead of a country, or a city district instead of a whole city.
If you are not interested in a topographic search, we recomment to browse the tab "Categories & Motives". If you are unsuccessful there, you can try the "Keywords" and finally the text search.
The search is performed bilingual. You can enter both English and German terms. Inscriptions are available in their original language only. Please avoid years, condition or prices, because they are not searched. Nearly all of the postcards are from before 1945, some even from the 19th century. All of our graphic are originals from the 19th century or earlier.
Each of the entered search terms needs to be present in the name of the place or the description of the postcard/graphic. Unfortunately, a so-called "OR" search is not possible.
If you are looking for postcards with a specific postmark (e.g. postmarks from Berlin, advertising marks of a restaurant), you can use the special search postmarks.
If you enter a place, a place search will always be performed first.
Only one place can be searched at once. If you want to make your search more general, use a higher geographical level, e.g. a county or state instead of a city.
Depending on country, the searched places can differ slightly. For example, you can search for specific regions, départements and arrondissements in France, but only states (Land) and district (Landkreis) in Germany.
In general, the following categories will be searched:
Topographial motives are all topographical objects that are displayed on postcards and graphic. For example, mountains and smaller lakes, specific buildings, squares or streets.
Because of the difficulty to geographically categorize them, large lakes, seas or rivers cannot be found using the place search. Many of them are available as keywords. Pleas euse the directory of "Keywords" or the text search to find them.
Because every postcard and graphic is assigned to only one topographical object at most, you should generalize your search (for example, the city or region, in which the object is located), if you do not find anything.
Because of the multitude of possibilities a search for greater regions like Balkans or Baltics is not possible. For some of them, however, keywords like " Alsace-Lorraine" and "Giant Mountains (Krkonoše)" exist. Please note that such keywords will not be searched by the place search, use the directory of keywords or the text search instead.
If you want to search German and for postcards also French, Czech, Polish, or US postal codes, we recommend the zip code search under "Postal codes" instead of the place search.
When the place search is finished, a list of all found places and motives are shown, including the number of postcards found for each place. Click one of the places to change to the corresponding directory. There you can browse or search the place, show all available postcards for it, or change to the corresponding interactive map.
If no postcard or graphic is available for a specific place, it will be shown in grey.
If you enter a search text, the text search will be performed. If you also entered a place, the text search will be performed only after a corresponding place has been found and selected by you.
The following information of the postcard or graphic will be searched:
Please only enter a place as search text if you are looking for a publisher at that place, a larger region, or the exact spelling as printed on the postcard or graphic.
Years (except those of a postcard's postal status), age, conditions und prices wil not be searched. Please refrain from entering those.
The combined search will be performed as soon as you enter both a place and a search text. It begins with a normal place search.
Subsequently, a list of all corresponding places will be shown, from which you need to select one. Note that the bracketed numbers after the place names indicate the number of all postcards or graphic at the corresponding place. The number of cards or graphic additionally corresponding to your text search will most likely be substantially smaller.
After selecting a place, only postcards or graphic at that place will be searched for you text.
If you are looking for specific postmarks, choose the special search among the search types.
This way, the entered search text will be looked for in the postmarks instead of the description of the postcards.
Military and advertising marks will be included in this search (everything that is stamped and readable on the cards).
The selection of the search type does not have any consequences for pure place searches. For combined searches, the postmarks of all cards at the selected place will be searched.
Please note that because of the variety of abbreviations in military postmarks the manual search of all postcards with the keyword "Military mail" might return more cards of a specific division or regiment than the special search.
Unfortunately, normal text search and special search cannot be combined.
Because of the place of our business, the larger part of the offered postcards and graphic are from Germany, especially from the state of Saxony and the city of Dresden. You can write us directly if you are looking for specific postcards or graphic. Our stock is much larger than the postcards and graphic available on our website.