Basically each of these cards says "dude, can you hear me now?" A fad of the 1960's and a way for nerds and freedom fighters alike to chat around the world before the web, these cards were sent by participating amateur ham radio operators to confirm reception and are now collected for their graphics, historical content and such. I cribbed the following from Wiki, you can read ALL about them here. "QSL cards are a ham radio operator's calling card and are frequently an expression of individual creativity — from a photo of the operator at his station to original artwork, images of the operator's home town or surrounding countryside, etc. They are frequently created with a good dose of individual pride. Consequently, the collecting of QSL cards of especially interesting designs has become an add-on hobby to the simple gathering of printed documentation of a ham's communications over the course of his or her radio career"
Group of QSL cards 1961-1962 Collection Jim Linderman
4 comments:
OMG, these are so awesome! I had never heard of these QSL cards before. They rock. Stuff like that is just so cool.
Me neither, until not long ago. I've learned there is always something goofy in the next bin.
Thanks for following and taking the time to write!
While these are lovely, as QSL cards go, they're fairly dull. At least if you're the sort of guy who's less excited by a stylish, professional-looking postcard than by a hectographically reproduced drawing of an anthropomorphic sparkplug driving a big rig with Minnie Mouse in the passenger seat. I've got maybe 60-80 of them, selected mostly for: (a) copyright infringement, (b)crudity of execution, or (c) extreme eccentricity. And plenty of them have it all at the same time! I also have a handful of the more professional ones, which could be ordered with your call letters from specialist printers, but they're just not quite the same. I've intended for a long time to either throw some up on Flickr or actually start a blog for them, but frankly, I'm wildly overbooked as it is. Someday, maybe.
Yes, I've seen some quite beautiful and startling ones, but as i'm most certainly NOT a collector, the specialization you have centered on is understandable, but not my thing. They are fascinating...anything done individually, eccentrically and creatively is great, especially these days, and these early pioneers were interesting indeed. THANKS for for taking the time to comment, and if you'd like me to post some of your images, let me know! Jim
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