The first picture postcards with no illustrations appeared in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1869. The first picture postcard appeared in Germany in 1870. The earliest cards from Ukraine depicted views of cities. These were the "Gruss aus" or "Greetings from" types from cities such as Stanislaviv, Chernivtsi and Kyiv. These cards appeared about 1894. Some of these postcards are depicted in the following series of pages.
Ukrainian ethnographic types were first published in Chernivtsi in 1898-99. Soon after postcards depicting Hutsuls and various other Ukrainian ethnographic types appeared.
Postcards showing portraits of Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's greatest poet, have always been popular. Shevchenko thematic postcards began appearing about 1899.
Christmas and Easter greeting cards first appeared about 1900 and have been among the most popular types of postcards over the decades.
At the beginning of the 20th century, postcards became one of the most popular methods of postal communication and publishers began distributing postcards covering very broad themes. Among the most popular recurring themes were art, portraits of actors, Ukrainian ethnography and portraits of famous people. During World War I, postcards of the Ukrainian Legion (Sichovi Striltsi) were popular. Postcards with Ukrainian themes have been published in many countries.
Postcard Images 1 to 10
Postcard Images 11 to 20
Postcard Images 21 to 30
Postcard Images 31 to 40
Postcard Images 41 to 50
These postcards have been provided courtesy of the Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society.
Interested in collecting Ukrainian stamps, coins, banknotes, postcards, medals, and other types of memorabilia, why not join the Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society. For membership information, write to:
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