POSTCARDS FROM THE PAST

1960’s Photochrome Era Postcard

In Photochrome 4-Color Process printing

TOPIC

Migrating Canada Geese

on Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin

Year

1960’s

Postmarked 1973

Era

Photochrome Era (1939-ongoing)

 “Chrome” postcards began to dominate the scene soon after the Union Oil Company placed them in its western service stations in 1939.  Mike Roberts pioneered his “WESCO” cards soon after World War II.  Three-dimensional postcards also appeared in this era.  By 1960s, the standard size of cards had grown to 4 x 6 inches.

Photochromes are not real photos but rather, printed cards done by a photochrome process.  To distinguish a printed postcard from a real photo postcard, examine it under a magnifying glass and you will see the dot pattern that is characteristic of printed cards.

Printer

Koppel Color Cards (1877-1960’s)

Also known as “K” Kards
Hawthorne, New Jersey

Louis Charles Koppel Sr. (1832-1878) immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1853 and became a naturalized citizen in 1854. In 1870 Koppel became the publisher of the New Jersey Reformer and Jewish Times. In 1877, he was also a major publisher and printer of postcards.

Koppel died in 1878 and his son, Louis Charles Koppel Jr. (1878-1985), a resident of New York City, took over the postcard business opening an office in New York. Jim Tushingham was the Manager for the Hawthorne, New Jersey Plant.

Koppel Color Cards of the 1940’s to 1960’s were mainly printed in 4 color process picture postcards, accordion folders & mini-albums for various tourist hot spots such as Weekie Wachee, Old St. Augustine, and the Catskills and many hotel/motels. They also printed reproduction 3-D cards for use in stereopticons. Everything was printed on Miehle one color printing presses - so every sheet of paper ended up passing through the press 4 times - yellow, cyan, magenta and finally the black.

The Koppel carried on as a family operated business for three generations. Finally closing in the 1960’s.

Publisher

Joboul Publishing Company (1950-1969)

“Aero Distributing Co.”

1323 Chicago Avenue

Evanston, Illinois

Aero Distributing Company was owned and operated by John Haig Joboul (1918-1962). John was also owner of Joboul Publishing Company, established in 1950 and published and printed postcards and maps of Illinois. His company Aero Distributing would distribute the postcards and maps throughout Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana.

John married Jean Ann (Moulding) Joboul (1918-2011) in a Christmas time wedding in 1955. John died tragically in 1962 at the age of 44. After his death, his wife Jean helped stabilize the Joboul Publishing Company that John had founded. Jean retired in 1969 and sold the company. She died in 2011 at the age of 93.

Distributor

Aero Distributing Co.

“Joboul Publishing Company”

Size

Standard Size: 5 ½ X 3 ½ / 14cm X 8.9cm

Printing Technique

Photochrome

 4-Color Process printing

Full-color images are created on the printing press by applying separate layers of the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks. Photochrome cards were both more realistic looking and less expensive. Thousands of colors can be reproduced by overlapping these CMYK colors in various concentrations. Applied as tiny dots on the paper the four CMYK colors combine to create the visual effect we know as full color printing.

CONDITION

Used /Posted

Corners and edges in fair condition.

Picture side in nice condition.

NO tears, creases, pinholes, smears, smudges, stains, or mold.