Q:I recently came into possession of several hundred old family postcards dating from about 1885 to 1912. There are many varieties, including birthday and military cards, valentines, and Easter and Christmas greetings. Some of the Christmas postcards picture black Santas. Most are in color and some have human hair or ribbon embellishments. Many were mailed from Canada to one of our family members. The postcards are all in good condition because they've been stored in a shoebox in a closet for years. Are people interested in old postcards?

A:There are plenty of collectors interested in old postcards-especially cards the age of yours-but sort through your shoebox before deciding on a strategy to sell them. First take out any that you would like to keep for your family-cards with messages that explain family history or cards that picture your relatives. Then go to your library and check out a book on old postcards. There you'll find lists of publishers and artists whose postcards are more valuable than others. (Cards published by Raphael Tuck and cards with artwork by Howard Chandler Christy are especially valuable.) Pull those cards out, along with the black Santas, other holiday cards, patriotic cards and cards picturing early automobiles and airplanes. All of those are worth more than standard cards. Then you'll have to decide if you want to sell only the most valuable cards or the whole collection. Many postcards sell for just 5 cents, but a few sell for over $100. Several websites price postcards and give advice about selling.