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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. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...
, 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 Newspaper wrapper, wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage ...
item consisting of a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp
In philately, an imprinted stamp is a stamp printed onto a piece of postal stationery such as a stamped envelope, postal card, letter sheet, letter card, aerogram or wrapper.Carlton, R. Scott. ''The International Encyclopedic Dictionary of ...
. 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 fact that it is folded in half before it is sent means there is twice as much space for the message compared with a postal card
Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a ''Corre ...
of the same final size.
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'', which included a small reply card, were introduced in 1912.
Letter cards were issued in a variety of card stock and colour.
The terms ''letter card'' and ''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. official recognized the word ''aerogramme''.
See also
*Letter sheet
In Philately, philatelic terminology a letter sheet, often written lettersheet, is a sheet of paper that can be folded, usually sealed (most often with sealing wax in the 18th and 19th centuries), and mailed without the use of an envelope, or i ...
* 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.
In some places, one can send a postcard f ...
References
External links
{{commons category, Lettercards Philatelic terminology Postal stationery