The postcard appeared for the first time in 1855, during the celebrations of the postal conference in Karlsruhe, Germany. However, it gained real popularity only in 1869, when a teacher of the military academy in Wiener Neustadt (Austria) suggested to the Austrian government a new form of simple and cheap communication. Thus, Austria has the privilege to be the first country worldwide where postcards were sold. They became fashionable and in 1874 they were printed and sent all over Europe. America imported the idea and the postcard was an immediate success.

Its official acceptance, however, dates from 1878, 23 years after its first appearance, at the World Postal Convention. Until then, postcards were simple cardboard rectangles with the print or stamp of the country of origin, without any further decoration except the pre-printed lines to write on. Although there is some indication that postcards appeared already in France in 1777, as an initiative of the engraver Demaison who allegedly circulated them.

In the second half of the 19th century, the lithographer Meisler in Germany created illustrated postcards which rendered them much more attractive and increased the number of their fans considerably.

Thanks to another artist, the painter Franz Borisch, from 1872 onwards postcards were produced with images of landscapes, paintings or photographies. The following year, the use of postcards in Spain was made official, with designs attributed to Don Joaquín Pí y Margall.