The first postcard was issued in British India on this day.

The cost of sending a postcard anywhere within British India was 1/4 anna at that time and one-and-a-half annas for sending one to a country that was part of the Universal Postal Union.

In about two decades the postcard would become a very popular means of communication in India, almost like a household item. Picture postcards were to follow soon.

The first postcard had been issued by the Austria-Hungary Post on October 1, 1869.

It was adopted as an inexpensive and easy mode of communication that required less effort than letters.

The introduction of the postcard had been preceded by a debate on the privacy factor of the postcard.

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