It becomes apparent that the most popular postcard in the radio world is the QSL card, which had its earliest origins way back in the year 1916. Thus far here in Wavescan, we have presented several features on various historic radio cards, all of which have been associated in some way with the QSL card. On this occasion, we take a look at the SWL Card, which was an early outgrowth from the early QSL cards which are known these days as Reception Report Cards.The SWL Card, that is the Shortwave Listener Card, was quite popular during the 1930s in the era when shortwave broadcasting was developing quite rapidly. Two different styles of cards are noted during this era; those that were printed specifically by an individual listener for his own use, and generic cards that could be used by anybody.
These SWL cards were used by shortwave listeners to send as a reception report to a radio station, usually an amateur radio station, though quite often also to a broadcasting station, shortwave or mediumwave. Most of these cards were in use in the United States, though the concept was used elsewhere in other countries, such as in Canada, many countries in Europe, and also in Australia and New Zealand.
The Indianapolis collection contains several hundred reception report cards, mostly in the 1930s, and mostly from listeners in the United States. We choose a selection of these cards; first of all, the cards that were printed by individual listeners for their own personal use, and the years are from 1933 to 1936. Thus, these dated SWL cards are all more than 70 years old.
For example, the SWL card that shortwave listener Judge Bodycote of East Norwalk in Connecticut used is printed on blue card stock and it shows the letters SWL in large red letters. This card was printed by an amateur radio operator, W9DGM.
The postage stamp on this card, which was addressed to a shortwave listener in Ohio, was a green Benjamin Franklin stamp priced at just one cent. We can remember that these days a post card posted in the United States now costs 28 cents. The postmark is very clear, showing February 25, 1936.
An SWL card dated in 1935 was printed for a radio listener in Irvington, New Jersey. The letters SWL are printed in large hollow red letters. This listener was apparently a proud father, as a postage sized photo of a happy young boy is shown on the text side of the card.
Another SWL card dated in 1935 was from a listener in Brooklyn, New York. Two logos printed on this card indicate that he was a member of the International Short Wave Club and also the Short Wave League. This card reports the reception of an amateur radio transmission in Waterloo, Iowa.
A listener in Placerville California used a colorful SWL card, with the large letters SWL-W6 and the border around the edge of the card printed in a bright red. The addition of the amateur identification W6 indicated the 6th radio district in the United States which included California.
Interestingly, the address side of this card carries the same Benjamin Franklin green stamp valued at one cent, and another similar stamp on the text side of the card. The first stamp is postmarked, and the other is not. It would seem then that the listener intended that the second stamp should be used by the amateur radio station for the return postage on the QSL card.
An SWL card from a listener in Canada shows a large maple leaf in green, with the identification VE3SWL superimposed. VE3 would identify the listener as living in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The oldest card in this series is dated April 3, 1933 and it is printed entirely in red for a listener in Toledo Ohio. This man was also a member of the Short Wave League, with the identification R9LL.
Most of the pre-printed generic SWL cards were made available by the various radio clubs that were flourishing in the United States at the time and most of these cards just indicate SWL for Short Wave Listener. However, a few of them have been overprinted with the amateur radio district, such as W8 for Ohio, W2 for New York or W5 for Texas, and so on.
Many of these generic SWL cards were printed on behalf of radio clubs, including the famed Newark News Radio Club, the Universal Radio Club, and the Globe Circlers DX Club. Interestingly, one of these SWL cards that was in use in the United States was actually printed in New Zealand on behalf of the New Zealand DX Radio League. This listener, living in West Linn Oregon, must therefore have been a member of that distant radio club down under in the “Land of the Long White Cloud”.
(NWS 40 via Adrian Peterson AWR)