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"Wavescan" is a weekly program for long distance radio hobbyists produced by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio. AWR carries the program over many of its stations (including shortwave). Adrian Peterson is a highly regarded DXer and radio historian, and often includes features on radio history in his program. We are reproducing those features below, with Dr. Peterson's permission and assistance.


Wavescan 474, February 1, 2004

Old Amateur QSL Cards

If you were to hold in your hand a small cluster of very old amateur radio cards from the 1920s, what would they look like? That's our opening topic here in Wavescan this week.

The CPRV QSL Collection in a university in Maryland and the ORF QSL collection in Vienna are two of the world's largest and most significant historic collections. Both Jerry Berg with the American collection and Wolf Harranth with the Austrian collection tell us that the earliest QSL cards are dated in the year 1920. Most of these very early cards were handwritten on standard Post Office postcards, though a few copies of printed cards from that era are known to exist.

In the AWR QSL collection, the very earliest amateur QSL cards are dated in the year 1922. The oldest that we hold is dated August 9, 1922, and it is a generic QSL card printed for Pitts Radio Stores in Providence, Rhode Island.

The QSL details, now faded almost beyond readability, are handwritten with pencil, and the station identification, 1GV was rubber stamped onto the card in huge letters three inches wide. This card was posted to another amateur station, 1BQT, in a small town in the same state, Rhode Island.

The cancelled postage stamp on this card is a 1 cent green showing Benjamin Franklin. In those days the callsigns for amateur radio stations began with a number identifying the district, followed by two or three letters, though there was no prefix indicating the country.

Our oldest QSL using a standard card from the Post Office is dated October 6, 1922. The QSL text was typed onto the card and the almost unreadable QSL details were filled in by hand using a red pencil. The station callsign, 9DGE, was rubber stamped onto the card.

We might add that our oldest card that was specifically printed as a QSL card is dated October 29, 1922, and it comes from station 2BQG in New York City. Again, the cancelled postage stamp is the 1 cent Benjamin Franklin in green.

Our oldest card from another country is from station 8EN in Marseille, France, and it was posted to another French station in 1923. This is a printed card in the French language, with the text in green and the callsign, 8EN, in large red letters.

A Canadian card from the same year is a generic card printed for a commercial company. Interestingly, the regular callsign was 3BA, but it was operating a special callsign, 9AP. Perhaps this was a mobile operation. The postage stamp is also in green, it is valued at 2 cents, and it pictures the British monarch, King George V.

Two old cards from the year 1924 are from station 0CZ in Holland, and 3AF in New Zealand. Both of these are printed cards in a regular style, though the seventy year old card from New Zealand is now quite fragile.

An old card from Australia is dated in 1925, and another old card from Argentina is also dated in the same year. The South American card is from station CB8, and it is printed onto a standard Post Office card.

Other old cards are from such stations as B7 in Belgium, 6BD in England, EAR1 in Spain, A4M in South Africa, KY4 in Germany, and SMYG in Sweden.

If you were to hold in your hand a small cluster of very old amateur radio cards from the 1920s, what would they look like? That's our opening topic here in Wavescan this week.

The CPRV QSL Collection in a university in Maryland and the ORF QSL collection in Vienna are two of the world's largest and most significant historic collections. Both Jerry Berg with the American collection and Wolf Harranth with the Austrian collection tell us that the earliest QSL cards are dated in the year 1920. Most of these very early cards were handwritten on standard Post Office postcards, though a few copies of printed cards from that era are known to exist.

In the AWR QSL collection, the very earliest amateur QSL cards are dated in the year 1922. The oldest that we hold is dated August 9, 1922, and it is a generic QSL card printed for Pitts Radio Stores in Providence, Rhode Island.

The QSL details, now faded almost beyond readability, are handwritten with pencil, and the station identification, 1GV was rubber stamped onto the card in huge letters three inches wide. This card was posted to another amateur station, 1BQT, in a small town in the same state, Rhode Island.

The cancelled postage stamp on this card is a 1 cent green showing Benjamin Franklin. In those days the callsigns for amateur radio stations began with a number identifying the district, followed by two or three letters, though there was no prefix indicating the country.

Our oldest QSL using a standard card from the Post Office is dated October 6, 1922. The QSL text was typed onto the card and the almost unreadable QSL details were filled in by hand using a red pencil. The station callsign, 9DGE, was rubber stamped onto the card.

We might add that our oldest card that was specifically printed as a QSL card is dated October 29, 1922, and it comes from station 2BQG in New York City. Again, the cancelled postage stamp is the 1 cent Benjamin Franklin in green.

Our oldest card from another country is from station 8EN in Marseille, France, and it was posted to another French station in 1923. This is a printed card in the French language, with the text in green and the callsign, 8EN, in large red letters.

A Canadian card from the same year is a generic card printed for a commercial company. Interestingly, the regular callsign was 3BA, but it was operating a special callsign, 9AP. Perhaps this was a mobile operation. The postage stamp is also in green, it is valued at 2 cents, and it pictures the British monarch, King George V.

Two old cards from the year 1924 are from station 0CZ in Holland, and 3AF in New Zealand. Both of these are printed cards in a regular style, though the seventy year old card from New Zealand is now quite fragile.

An old card from Australia is dated in 1925, and another old card from Argentina is also dated in the same year. The South American card is from station CB8, and it is printed onto a standard Post Office card.

Other old cards are from such stations as B7 in Belgium, 6BD in England, EAR1 in Spain, A4M in South Africa, KY4 in Germany, and SMYG in Sweden.