In the early 1900s, there was — believe it or not — a kind of postcard war. Postcards were so popular that competitors were trying to come up with something completely different. All kinds of interesting materials were used to entice buyers. One of these was leather.
Starting in 1903, postcards made of leather were decorated using pyrography, which is literally, fire writing. This was also known as pokerwork. The tip of a sharp tool was heated by fire and designs were burned into the leather. Deerskin was the leather of choice since it was soft and supple.
One of the leather postcards at our Museum shows a red lobster. The red was ink added after the design was burned into the deerskin. The leather postcards depicted every imaginable topic, from A to Z.
Some of the postcards came as a series to enable the sender to mail one card after the next to complete a story or puzzle. Others had holes punched around their borders to encourage the collectors to add fringe or after gathering a large number, stitch them together to make a stuffed pillow or wall hanging. All of our leather postcards have holes around their borders.
In 1909 the United States Postal Service banned the mailing of leather postcards because they were getting hung up in their new sorting machines.
We have a nice collection of these early deerskin postcards at the Campbell-Flannagan-Murrell House Museum. Most show comic images, but the ones with color or political themes are more valuable.
We are very fortunate in having three postcards created by the most popular leather postcard artist, W.S. Heal. His postcards show the humor of frontier living and stereotypes of the era. His name on the bottom of the postcard enhances its value. Whether you are a collector, or not, stop in to see these unique works of art.
