Page 5 - Prepaid Reply Cards
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2 The historical development of reply cards is closely linked to the early development of the General
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
and later the Universal Postal Union. The postcard as such is one of the «early» successes of the UPU,
which boosted its popularity by promoting its international use.
THE THE 1850S: THE 1ST «OPEN»MAIL
Originally «open» mail was not permitted and considered «immoral» since everybody had open access to the content
of the correspondence. In the 1850s postal customers in many countries started to use printed cards for simple
business correspondence, mainly for announcements, advertising or invitations. These cards were mailed using the
letter rate or – if available – a printed matter rate, since no specific postcard rate was available. In philately the terms
(sales) «representative card» or «announcement card» are used.
Early «Announcement card» mailed 1851 within Geneva to announce a meeting of the «Société des Arts»
The card bears all typical characteristics of an announcement card and
leaves only limited space for the receiver ©
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