Richard Novick has amassed a collection of more than 250,000 postcards, which are neatly categorized in boxes in his Marlboro home. JEFF GRANIT staff Small pieces of history are neatly stored in a special room of Richard Novick’s home in Marlboro, Monmouth County.
Novick, 88, is an avid deltiologist — postcard collector — and has been since 1969. It is a hobby that has grown over the years and one that has resulted in a collection of more than 250,000 postcards.
Novick began collecting postcards almost by chance. In the late 1960s he was collecting stamps. He had a few postcards, but he did not really know a lot about them.
Novick said that while he was at a stamp show he put out a box of postcards and offered to sell them for 25 cents each. He said two men ended up in a fistfight in front of his booth, battling for the postcards.
“I turned to my wife and said, ‘You know dear, if two men will start a fight over 25-cent postcards there must be more to the eye than I can see,’ ” Novick laughingly recalled.
His initial interests in collecting were postcards featuring the Knights of Pythias. He eventually expanded his collection to postcards featuring aviation and beautiful women. From there his collection grew to just about anything that can be pictured on a postcard.
Novick, who worked as a traveling salesman, said he would stop at antique shops to see if there might be postcards for sale. He hit the mother lode at one shop when the owner said he was desperate to get rid of his postcards in order to make room for other items. Novick bought a collection of about 30,000 postcards for $50.
A special room in his home holds all of the postcards. Everything is in meticulous order. Name a topic, and Novick will find you a postcard.
Novick is no stranger to the history of postcards. He explains the early origins of postcards, most of which initially came in the form of cards featuring the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Novick has some postcards that are in pristine condition, but he has another type which brings history to life.
One postcard from the Columbian Exposition was sent to a Miss Libbie Larabee in 1893. The sender, a woman named Nellie, tells Libbie all about her experiences and the sites she has seen. The postcard provides a glimpse into the past.
The oldest card in Novick’s collection dates back to 1890 and features the name of a haberdasher from New York City.
Postcards were all the rage in the early part of the 20th century, at a time before every family had a car, Novick explained. The images of destinations provided a glimpse of faraway settings.
Postcards also served as a quick way to correspond. Novick said that at one point a person could send a postcard inviting a friend to lunch that afternoon and the recipient would receive it in time to attend the meal.
Many early postcards came from Germany, Austria and France, but production came to a halt after the outbreak of World War I. The postcard heyday began to decrease, Novick said.
By the time Novick had his interest piqued in 1969, the hobby of postcard collecting was having a resurgence. Clubs of postcard collectors were formed, and publications chronicled the hobby.
Novick said men, women and children have taken up postcard collecting.
When thinking about postcards, many people would recall images of postcards that might be found on a rack at a vacation destination. While those are postcards, Novick’s collection shows many variations of a typical postcard.
Novick has one postcard that features delicate silk material from 1914 with the silk forming a small envelope. The postcard itself is from France, and judging by the message it contains, it was sent to the United States by a soldier far from home during World War I.
“Hope and love, from loving son Walter,” is just one message sent in the beautiful silk postcards.
Another postcard features a portrait of a beautiful woman, but with human hair.
Some postcards provide illusions. Holding one such postcard, Novick demonstrated how the scene portrayed a daytime view of St. Louis in 1904, but when held to the light the postcard became a transparency to show the city at night.
If a collector is lucky, he may be able to find an early mechanical postcard that still functions and features mechanisms that allow dates to be changed.
Over the years, Novick has collected and sold postcards. While most postcards sell for under $2 — although many can be bought for 10 cents or 25 cents — there are some rare cards that can command a higher price.
Novick once acquired a postcard by the artist Mucha. The postcard featured actress Maude Adams appearing as Joan ofArc in Boston in 1909. Novick said his postcard was the only one known to have been sent at the time of Adams’ appearance as Joan of Arc. Two unused postcards are also known to exist.
At one time the Mucha postcard was valued at $15,000, according to Novick. He eventually sold that postcard for $4,000.
Novick said the only postcard he has ever found of Marlboro was of a restaurant that used to be in town.
When Novick and his wife, Anita, moved to New Jersey in 1989, he had a postcard made up with an image of himself and his wife carrying their belongings into their new home.
On the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary in 1998, a postcard picturing the Novicks and their family was created to commemorate the occasion.
The stories that can unfold from the postcards are what Novick loves most.
“Every card has a story,” he said.
Novick recommends postcard collecting to everyone. Even in tough economic times, a postcard collection can be started for only a few dollars, he said.
“Postcards have maintained interest because of the subject matter, the fact that they are still basically inexpensive compared to any other hobby, and more and more people for that reason are coming into postcards,” Novick said.