Historical Postcards of Ballynahinch

Click on the links below to view postcards for that particular area of the town. All of these postcards are the property of Gerard Sloan and are used with his kind permission.

If you would like to write to Gerard about any of the postcards shown, or just to chat about postcards in general click here.

Railway Station (6)	Railway Street (10)	High Street (12)
Market Square (8)	Church/Dromore Street (10)	Churches and Schools (12)
Drumaness and Spa (7)	Local Area (10)	Parades/Politics (7)
Composite/Others (6)

A brief history of the postcard

The first plain postcard probably appeared in Austria in 1869. About one year later plain postcards appeared in the UK and were widely used by banks, the address being on the back with the message on the front. By the mid 1870's the first picture postcards had made their appearance in Europe.

Britain followed suit in 1894 when the first picture postcards were permitted but, by law only the address was allowed on the back so room had to be left on the front for the message as well as the image.

During the Paris Exhibition of 1889 postcards received a big boost in popularity and quickly became the favourite means of sending messages in Europe.

First postcard in Ballynahinch? 12th November, 1903

In 1902 Britain was the first country to divide the postcard back, allowing any message and the address on one side and a full size picture on the other. This led to a huge increase in postcard production and other countries soon followed suit.

The years from 1902 - 1914 have often been called the 'Golden Age' of Picture Postcards because people from all walks of life, rich and poor alike, sent postcards for a variety of reasons.

This was the cheapest and most reliable form of mass communication of the day and could be compared to text messaging today. There were six posts each day and it was possible to send a postcard in the morning and receive an answer back in the afternoon!

Almost every subject could be found on picture postcards and it became a national pastime. Most families had their own postcard album showing street scenes, animals or other themes which took their fancy.

Unimaginable millions were sold each year at a half penny per card plus a half penny stamp putting it within the reach of the masses..

For reasons of quality and price, most cards used in the UK were printed in Germany, but the First World War brought that to a close.

After 1918 the postal rate doubled to one penny and the use of the telephone became more widespread leading to the decline of postcards and the end of the 'Golden Age'.

The role of the postcard changed becoming increasingly associated with seaside holidays and led to the slightly risque postcards that until recently were found in all seaside resorts.