Here the message is crammed
underneath the picture.

I believe this to be a Dutch postcard.
E. S. W. Serie 233

Postcards were invented in Austria in 1869 and the first postcards in the United Kingdom went on sale on 1st October 1870.  The USA followed in 1873. These were plain cards with the address to be writen on one side and the message on the other.  It wasn't long before pictures were added but the quality of the image was poor and due to the fact that only the address could be on one side, the picture had to be small enough to allow space for the message.  However by the end of the 19th century the quality of printing and the ability to reproduce real photographic images on postcards started a boom for the postcard.  Several hundred million postcards a year were bought not just for posting messages but also for collecting.  Theatre and music hall stars were particularly popular subjects for collections.  By 1902 the UK allowed the message to be on the same side as the address allowing the picture to fill the other side.

This postcard is only half the normal width and is designed to be used as a bookmark

Miss Normah Whalley.
Davidson Bros. "Stageland Series"
 
 

Miss Zena Dare was a popular stage actress of the time.  This card was autographed by Zena and she wrote a message on the back asking the recipient to make a donation to a charity she was asociated with.

Rapid Photo Company - 1023

Margaret Halstan as "Juliet"

Guttenberg Photo.

The post was the only method that the vast majority of people had to communicate with each other.  The postcard allowed a quick message to be sent cheaply, rather like the text message or email today.  With several postal deliveries a day in most areas, a postcard sent in the morning could arrive by that afternoon.
 
 

Continued - Messages from the Past

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Miss Maude Fealy

Grapes, flowers and long hair
feature in many actress portraits
in the Edwardian era.

Rotary Photgraphic Series
1928 B 
(Photo : Reutlinger)