Hold to Light Postcards

On a hold to light postcard, the scene is in the daytime.  However, when you hold it to the light it becomes a night time scene with the windows lit up.

It is hard to take a photo of a "hold to light" postcard with it being lit from behind.  I had to get Frank to hold up the card in front of a bare light bulb while I took the picture.  Both of us were swaying just a little, so it took a while to get a photo that didn't look like we were both on crack.

The hold to light postcard was first made in Germany.  They had a special process that no other country could figure out.  When WWI started in 1914, Germany stopped making them for other countries. 

There are 3 very thin layers of paper glued together to make it. The top layer has the picture on it with holes cut out where the light will shine through.  The second layer is translucent and has the colors that will shine through the little holes.  The back layer looks quite solid, but is also is translucent and a message can be written on it.  There are 2 layers of glue that hold all this together.  Surprisingly, that type of postcard feels even thinner than the ones we have today, even with its 3 layers of paper and 2 layers of glue!

This first postcard is my oldest and most valuable one.  I bought it at a postcard show here in Orlando about 20 years ago for $35.00.  It was made to celebrate Edison's new incandescent light bulb, at the Paris World Exposition in 1900.

Here is the daytime scene...

And this is how it looks when held up to the light!

By the way, here is a photo of men assembling the star
on top of the Palais de Electricite.

This was given to me as a Christmas gift by my Bible Study group in 1999.  Somebody found it on the Internet and that was a big deal since what was the Internet and how did you get on it??

This is also a favorite.  It looks even better in person.  You are supposed to look at hold to light postcards with a 60 watt lightbulb, but because of the camera problems of taking a picture smack into the light, I had to use a 7 1/2 watt night light!

The man who sold me this at a postcard show didn't know what he had.  I got it for just $10!  When I got it home I discovered that someone had put a stamp over the moon on the back!  I had to carefully get that off as it was blocking the light.

This card was made in England by a totally different process. Notice how the sky completely changes when held to the light. There are no cut out holes in this for the light to shine through. There is one scene on the front, which is transparent but very strong.  Then there is another scene (moon, clouds, lights) printed on another transparent sheet of paper.  The back sheet is transparent, but doesn't look like it is, and the message and address go there.

This is an advertising postcard for Dingman's Soap

This 1904 British postcard is pretty unusual.  It has no holes, and the front is in black & white.  When held to the light you see the children in color and an angel in the background!