Postcards Cancelled On Picture Side

I see this occasionally on both U.S. and European postcards, in the period of 1905 to 1915. Picture postcards are usually marked for stamp placement, but on some cards the sender intentionally affixes the stamp on the picture side of the card for cancellation. Here's an example from the 1910 Brussels Exhibition.

Can anyone explain this practice? Did it signify anything or were people just toying with the Post Office?

They are called 'Maxim Cards' (short for maximum card)

From the SCF glossary



Don

In this case, I don't believe GregAlex is referring to the Maxim Card concept.

Back in the 1900 to 1930 era, stamps were sometimes applied to the picture side of the card without there being any discernible connection between stamp, cancel or picture. This seems to have been an European idea. I have noticed this in going through cover boxes at shows.

I second Bob's statement. That Belgian postcard does not resemble a maximum card, at least not the kind that was popular in Holland in the 50's.

Peter

Understood.
Maxium cards started before 1900..then, as now, some attempts at a Maxium were not a success. But now we are in the territory of 'intent' which is virtually impossible to understand short of having the original sender describing it for us.
Don

Edit: debating 'intent' is endless forum troll territory.

"MAXIMUM CARDS 1932

In 1896 a postcard was mailed from Greece where the sender defied postal regulations and applied a postage stamp to the image side of the card. It was a natural response for someone who was interested in stamp collecting as well as the newer hobby of postcard collecting. In this way both stamp and image were visible when the postcard was placed into an album. As this became a more common practice the term Timbre Cote Vue or just Verso were written into the stampbox to inform the postal clerk that the stamp was on the other side. From this they became known as TCV Cards. Eventually more elaberate practices developed as collectors would continue to mail these cards to see how many different stamps from different countries could be affixed. By 1932 the term Maximum Card was first used, where the similarities of image, stamp, and cancel were in maximum relationship to one another. Placing stamps on the image side of a card was always more popular among stamp collectors than postcard collectors who tend to prefer their cards in mint condition. In 1980 the realizing of maximum cards had become an independent branch of Philately." - from this website on postcard history https://www.metropostcard.com/histo...14-1945.html

Thanks Battlestamps. Very informative.

The "verso" script written in/over the "place stamp here" box is seen most commonly.

I know of collectors of this specific type of cards.

It is a really nice way to build a collection with postcards from around the world.

Some examples

Austria

Western Australia

Transvaal

Chili

Hungary

France

Johan

Those are great cards. I've never seen anything like them before. Thanks for sharing.

The British Post Office usually issues postcards depicting newly issued stamps, which they call PHQ cards. It's quite common for collectors to affix the relevant stamp to the 'wrong' side and post it, as per this example:

I have a fair number of postcards of this sort in my Esperanto topical collection. Here are a few examples:

Germany, 1921. Esperanto label where the stamp should normally go, and an arrow indicating that the stamp is on the reverse.


Austria (Bohemia), 1912. Another arrow.


Iran, 1911. The note in red ink says, "Affix the stamp on the picture side."

Japan, 1930. Stamps on both sides!

I've seen quite a few worldwide postcards with the stamp on the picture side, especially those from early postcard exchange groups. I'll have to scan some pics later.

Great discussion.
I never saw that before.

Excellent information -- thanks so much! I was not aware of the connection between these "verso" cards and maximum cards. I flipped over the card in my OP and sure enough, it is marked "Verso/over" where the stamp would normally be placed.



I also have one of these from the USA, but the sender (probably an Italian tourist) did not mark it verso and the Post Office marked it postage due. The chronology is strange, though, because the first postmark is July 1, 1914, but the actual cancellation on the picture side is July 2. Maybe they didn't notice the stamp until the next day. In any case, it was never picked up by the recipient and was pulled from General Delivery after a month.

'
Q/ Anybody got any clues about the codes?

GLOBE 694
J.J. 5600
L.E. 947
S.V.C. 519

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I've been on the lookout for these now and the majority of TCV cards I'm seeing are French. I did find a neat one recently -- a Paris card with a dirigible sailing over the city. Apparently this became such common practice that senders like this one didn't even bother to indicate that the stamp was on the front.