Hold to Light

This instruction appeared on many post cards that were manufactured around the turn of the 20th century.  When the user holds the card up to a strong light, translucent portions of the card are illuminated from behind.  On some cards, an image appears in a normally blank space on the card.  On other cards, colored lights appear in windows, or reflections appear in the water.  The scene appears to change from day to night.  The card below, depicting the town of Heidelberg, Germany, shows the dramatic effect.

Of the hundreds of hold-to-light cards that were produced, only a few were made that depict ships at sea, or in a harbor.  So far, I have come across less than a dozen that depict ships.  The one that first caught my eye started my collection:

At this point, I have acquired 10 cards that depict ships.  Here are two more that illustrate the variety and drama that these novelty cards offer:

This last card is called a "meteor" card.  Unlike the others, which have cut-outs in a nearly opaque layer of the card, the entire meteor card is translucent in varying degrees. As you can see, the effect is pretty dramatic.

Today, movie films, television shows, YouTube videos that saturate us with vivid entertainment.  But 100 years ago, the novelty of post cards like these, along with stereoptican viewers and Edison cylinder phonographs were the state of the art for parlor entertainment.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do...