The newest addition to my early pioneer postcard collection is a postal card from the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The 1893 Columbian Expo is significant as it is the first year commercial postcards were printed in the U.S. This particular postal card is extremely rare as it was printed in 1892 as part of a 4-card “Pre-Official” set that was mailed to dignitaries and VIPS of other countries as a sort of advertisement for the expo. No-one knows exactly how many of these Pre-Official postal cards were printed in 1892. My guess would be maybe 100 to 500 each. The Pre-Official postal cards don’t show up on eBay that often. This one was the first one to appear on eBay in two years.