Curt Teich Co. – Sent from the Past

Curt Teich emigrated to Chicago in 1895. He had worked as a lithographer in Lobenstein, Germany.

He founded the Curt Teich Company in 1898, concentrating on newspaper and magazine printing. He was an early publisher of postcards, but he didn’t begin printing them himself until 1908.

According to MetroPostcard.com, “As his competition dwindled, his sales expanded and his American factories would eventually turn out more postcards than any other in the United States. “

The company was best known for its wide range of advertising and postcards of North America. By the 1920s, it was producing so many postcards with borders that they became recognized as a type dubbed “White Border Cards,” creating an “era.”

Curt Teich started using offset presses in 1907, but it took a number of years before he had offset presses made to his satisfaction and many more years for him to perfect the method.

His innovations in this printing technique directly led to the production of what we now call “linens” by the early 1930s.

The company aided the war effort during the second world war by also printing many military maps.

Curt Teich eventually turned management of the company over to his son, but he remained active in company operations throughout its history.

Curt Teich died in 1974 and the family business was sold to Regensteiner Publishers who continued to print postcards at the Chicago plant until 1978 when the rights to the company name and processes were sold to the Irish company, John Hinde Ltd. Their California subsidiary now prints postcards under the name John Hinde Curteich, Inc.

C.T. Photochrom