U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for October 25

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25: POSTCARDS

Profile America — Tuesday, October 25th.  Just about everyone on vacation stops by a souvenir shop for some picture postcards to send to friends or just to keep as a reminder of the trip.  In the U.S., the first postcards were mailed on this date in 1870.  Until 1898, only the U.S. post office was authorized to print post cards.  Private firms were then allowed to produce them, and illustrations and photographs began appearing on them about 1900.  These picture postcards were wildly popular, and by 1908, Americans were sending 680 million postcards annually.  Postcards are among the more than 177 billion pieces of mail handled by the U.S. Postal Service each year.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 1126

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau