[Collection of Amateur Ham Radio QSL Cards]

[Various], 1960. A large and diverse collection of amateur radio cards assembled by Royce A. Fish (call letters W3HEQ) of Rockville MD, broadcast engineer for CBS News and President of I.B.E.W Local 1200. As amateur radio developed, QSL card collecting became an important part of the ham radio culture, used to confirm contact between stations and operators. Cards from distant locations were exchanged and often used to decorate the walls of one's station. Production of QSL cards ranged from a DIY affair to professionally printed photographic cards, commonly showing the operator at his station (almost always a he, almost always the sort of pasty guy you would imagine). The cards show trends in graphic design, new printing technologies, even geopolitical developments. Particularly interesting in this collection are a large group of cards from Soviet block countries. Cards in this collection come from Czechoslovakia, Belarus, Poland, Yugoslavia and other Soviet republics, where amateur radio broadcasters were organized into clubs under the umbrella of the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Air Force and Navy, who produced and distributed the QSL cards. This large and diverse collection of ham radio cards, received from all over the world by a ham radio operator over approximately twenty years from the early seventies to early nineties gives a glimpse of the broader culture as well as its own micro-culture. Approximately 575 QSL postcards, most measuring approx. 5.5" x 3.5" on various paper stocks. Housed in cardboard QSL-specific box measuring 12.75" x 6.75" x 5" approx. with alphabetical tabs for organizing. Cards dated from early 1970s to the early 1990s. Cards generally very good with expected edgewear.