The postcard has a history of over 130 years. According to historical records, in October 1865, a German painter created a beautiful drawing on cardboard, intending to send it to a friend as a wedding gift. However, unable to find a suitable envelope, he wrote the recipient's information on the back and mailed it at the suggestion of a post office clerk, thus creating the world's first homemade "postcard." In 1869, an Austrian doctor suggested developing postcards and classifying them as printed mail to reduce postage. The Austrian Post Office adopted his suggestion and officially launched them at the Vienna Post Office on October 1st of the same year, making Austria the first country in the world to issue postcards. Due to their ease of use and low postage, postcards became very popular. Germany officially launched them in July 1870, followed by Britain, the United States, France, Switzerland, and other countries.
China's first set of postcards was issued by the Qing government in 1896. They were vertically rectangular, with the words "Great Qing Post Office" and a dragon and evergreen pattern printed in the upper left corner. In March of 1927, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Bank of Communications, the Ministry of Communications specially authorized the issuance of a set of commemorative postcards, consisting of four designs. The front was printed in red, green, and purple, featuring a sailboat as the stamp image, while the backs each had a different design. This marked the first official issuance of commemorative postcards in China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, various exquisite postcards with diverse themes and rich Chinese national characteristics were issued. The golden age of postcards in China was the 1980s and 90s.