See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

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"Continental – Pneumatic bicycle tires" (c. 1900). "This one is an advertisement as postcards often were," says Klich. "The rubber tire company who made it produced many humorous cards about the liberation that the bicycle brought women like this one, who is boldly wearing bloomers in public."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"Grand café Schöneberg" (c. 1914), by Michel Noa. "Postcards were all about being stylish and up-to-date," says Klich. "The striking design of this one proclaims the modernity and allure of a popular café, and place to be seen, in Berlin’s Schöneberg neighborhood."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"You are the man that I want" (c. 1915). "Postcards often reproduced posters, giving them a second life in a cheaper and much more portable medium," explains Klich. "Imagine this postcard arriving in your mailbox. It reproduces a British recruiting poster from the First World War; the intimidating fellow is Lord Kitchener, Britain’s War Secretary and a military hero."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"Bowling in Brussels," from a series of bowling kings before 1910, Charles Naillod. "European royals were frequent targets for postcard caricaturists, who exaggerated trademark characteristics (like the long white beard on Leopold II of Belgium that you see here), to make their subjects immediately recognizable," Klich says. "This card is from a series issued by the Brunswick company, which introduced the rubber balls that helped make bowling fashionable among the bourgeoisie—perhaps the artist meant to make the royals seem fashionable as well, at a time when people began questioning the relevance and usefulness of kings and queens."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"Michelin Tires, Houston Texas" (c. 1910). "This postcard is a real photo, meaning that it was printed directly from the negative onto paper with a postcard back," says Klich. "Because they could be produced quickly and economically, and featured high quality photographs, real photo postcards could be even better than newspapers for reporting current events and local happenings, such as the arrival of Bibendum (the mascot adopted by the Michelin company in 1894) to the streets of Houston, Tex."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"Mele Department Stores" (c. 1900). "Women were one of the most popular postcard topics," says Klich. "This seductive green-eyed lady was part of a publicity campaign. One of Italy’s new department stores enlisted the fine art printer Ricordi, of Milan, to entice customers with high-quality postcards and posters."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"Electric light, cheaper than petroleum" (c. 1910). "This sleek design does not advertise a specific product—it’s about convincing people to convert to the new technology of electricity."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"Cover postcard for the series Photography" (c. 1900), by Luigi Bompard. "Postcards were often issued in series, to spur collecting; this card was on the cover of one such set," Klich says of the cover, which can be more rare than the postcards themselves. "The disembodied eye gives you a taste for what you are in fo— a critic at the time called this set 'weird.'"

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"Secession building, from a series published for the First Secession Exhibition" (1898), by Josef Hoffmann. "The Vienna Secessionists were among the first artists to understand that postcards could used to advance their aesthetic agendas," says Klich. "This card promotes both the new building where the Secessionists would exhibit and sell their works, and their belief in creative collaboration; it includes designs by three artists: Koloman Moser, Joseph Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art

See the World's Priciest Postcards - From a Billionaire's Collection! - Gallery

An exhibit of Leonard Lauder's collection of rare postcards opens at Boston's MFA

Written by Adam Rathe

Read the Full Story ≫

"The postcard" (c. 1900). "At the turn of the century, postcards were so popular that there were postcards about postcards, like this one showing that they’ve overtaken the world," Klich says. "People first used postcards for quick and cheap communication—and billions zipped through the mails—but the craze really took off when people began collecting and trading them in huge numbers."

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Photograph by Courtesy Museum of Fine Art