Just over 100 years ago, in 1900, the Canadian Kodak Company introduced a novelty, a camera made to produce postcard-size negatives. The camera sold for roughly $20.

At the time Canadians were mailing more than 25,000 postcards a year. Within a few years, after the postcard format was changed by the post office, the number had ballooned into the millions.

These figures are questionable, but research by deltiologist Larry Keddy confirms the numbers, and it’s possible they’re underestimated.

The study and collection of postcards – deltiology – was the topic of a presentation Keddy made at the bi-monthly meeting of the Kentville Historical Society in January. In the talk, Keddy referred to postcards as yesterday’s email, noting that their popularity began over 150 years ago – in 1869 – when they were first introduced in Austria.