During the Private Mailing Card era, messages were not allowed on the back of the cards, so a small space was left on the front for notes from the sender. The sender had to purchase a 1 cent stamp for the Private Mailing Card. The words "Private Mailing Card" were printed on the back of cards along with the statement "Authorized by Act of Congress of May 19, 1898" and "This side is exclusively for the Address" indicating that messages could be written only on the front. Also the phrase "Postal Card - Carte Postale" appeared quite often, which indicated that the card was allowed to enter the international mail system.
Source: Postcards of the Smithsonian - Postcard Chronology at http://www.si.edu/archives/postcard/chronology.htm on 8/3/03
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Created: October 12, 2003 Modified: October 12, 2003