"The illustrated postcard craze,
like the influenza, has spread to these islands from the Continent,
where it has been raging with considerable severity. Sporadic
cases have occurred in Britain." 10
Like the telegram, the postcard
necessitated extremely brief methods of communication. Travelers
initially used postcards to convey short messages and to document
their journey for friends and family at home. The use of images
to convey information coupled with the brevity necessitated by
the postcard form freed them from the arduous work of describing
their trip in prose. By the end of the nineteenth century, as
regular collection of mail became more reliable and delivery time
was reduced, however, the postcard became a popular form of written
communication even among individuals who were not travelling.
Short messages and greetings could be quickly and inexpensively
sent via postcards.