Free printable vintage beach postcards make fun summer-themed home decor and are ideal for numerous DIY projects.
I’ve put together a collection of 27 free printable vintage beach postcards for all of your summer crafting and decorating needs and beyond. The vivid, detailed hand-painted beach scenes on these antique postcards are unlike anything you’ll find today. The vast majority of the postcards are linen. You’ll see that rich texture in the images. The artwork makes perfect home decor on its own and can be used for endless crafting projects.
I’ve collected beach postcards featuring 10 different states with scenes highlighting sand dunes, piers, hotels, resorts, convention halls, and of course, sunbathing, swimming, and boating. There are multiple iconic beach locations in the collection of images including Atlantic City, Cape Cod, Daytona Beach, Miami Beach, and Old Orchard Beach. There are also a couple of novelty “Where’s Waldo?” type scenes with a “reward for finding me here” caption.
In addition to wall decor, you can use the vintage postcards for endless DIY projects, including, but not limited to, tile coasters, pendant necklaces, magnets, decoupage, art/junk journals, digital and physical scrapbooks, and scrapbook embellishments.
Printable vintage beach postcard formats
Each postcard ZIP folder includes the following three formats.
Original ratio (3.5″ x 5.5″). All of the beach postcards are standard size, which is 3.5″ x 5.5.” Having the postcards in their original ratio gives you full creative control for cropping and formatting for specific home decor and DIY projects.
4×6. I’ve formatted all of the beach postcards in their original ratio with 0.5″ white borders on all sides for the easiest 4×6 printing. Every standard printing service has 4×6 options at a very affordable prices (as opposed to 3.5″ x 5.5,” which is all but impossible to find). 4×6 frames are also readily available. Offering a 4×6 format makes it very simple to print and frame your postcards.
8×10. I know that many people are also looking for 8×10 beach-themed art for quick printing and framing. Again, I’ve added a white border to all sides of the 8×10 formatted images. I’ve found that it’s the easiest way to keep approximately the original postcard ratio and to find a frame with or without a mat that will work well.
I have a full guide in which I cover the various download sizes that I offer for my vintage postcard collections. It will help you choose the best size for your framing and DIY projects. If you need any help, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
After the individual beach postcard downloads, I have the following downloads available.
A set of 8.5″ x 11″ pages with two original ratio postcards on each page. I’ve made a set of 14 8.5″ x 11″ pages with two postcards per page, so that you can print the full set at home or via a printing service using less paper than you would printing each postcard on a separate sheet. This format is ideal for art/junk journals and DIY projects.
Two digital collage sheets with ATC-size images. ATC-size crops (2.5″ x 3.5″) are intended for artist trading cards. They’re also perfect for numerous craft projects where you’d prefer smaller, more detailed images, such as greeting cards, pendant necklaces, and magnets.
All of the postcard images, 8.5″ x 11″ pages, and digital collage sheets are 300 dpi to ensure the highest print quality possible.
Would you like more postcard formats and/or digital collage sheets?
Please let me know! I’m happy to create more formats and collage sheets for particular decor and craft projects.
About the free printable vintage beach postcards
You may download and print the vintage postcards, 8.5″ x 11″ pages, and digital collage sheets as many times as you like for personal use, which includes classroom use. You may use the images and collage sheets for limited runs (5,000 items or less) of physical items to sell. Physical item use DOES NOT include made-to-order sites, such as Redbubble and Zazzle.
You may also use the images and collage sheets for limited runs (5,000 items or less) of digital items to sell. Digital items must be flat, finished pieces (i.e., not Photoshop files). The items you sell must be original content using the images. You may not sell the images individually or as part of larger collections.
Finally, please don’t distribute the download files. If family, friends, or co-workers would like their own beach postcards or collage sheets, please send them a link to this post, so that they can download the files themselves. Your support allows me to continue to offer free printables!
Please note: The low-resolution preview images in this post are purely intended to be used as previews. They are perfect for sharing on social media. They aren’t suitable for printing. Please use the download links to obtain the high-resolution versions of all of the images.
Free printable vintage beach postcards
$5.00 Reward If You Find Me Here
The postcard features a “Where’s Waldo?” type scene with the caption “$5.00 reward if you find me here.”
$5.00 Reward if You Can Find Me in This Crowd at Galveston, Texas
The postcard features another “Where’s Waldo?” type scene, this time in Galveston, Texas with the caption “$5.00 reward if you can find me in this crowd at Galveston, Texas.
The postcard features the beach in Daytona Beach, Florida as seen from the air by moonlight. The combination of the aerial view and the moonlight give this classic view such a unique perspective.
The postcard features a classic view of the beach in Daytona Beach looking north. The tide-packed sand at Daytona Beach constitutes the most unique drive in the world. It reaches from Ormond Beach to the inlet directly at sea level, measuring 500 feet wide and over 33 miles in length. Thousands of tourists head to Daytona Beach every year for their speedways.
Miami Beach, Florida Mid-Winter Bathing and Sunshine
The postcard features a classic mid-winter bathing and sunshine scene in Miami Beach, Florida. Along the bottom of the postcard, it reads “Temperature today is ____ degrees,” for the sender to fill in the current temperature.
Chicago, Illinois Edgewater Beach Hotel and Apartments
The postcard features the Edgewater Beach Hotel and Apartments in Chicago, IL.
The Edgewater Beach Hotel was located at 5349 Sheridan Road. At the time of publishing this postcard, the hotel featured 1,000 rooms with an attached garage for 200 cars as well as lawns, children’s playgrounds, gardens, tennis courts, golf putting course, private bathing beach, open air marble dancing floor, and over 1,000 feet of beach.
The Edgewater Beach Hotel closed in 1967 and was demolished in 1971. The historic Edgewater Beach Apartments are still standing at 5550 N. Sheridan Road. [Block Club Chicago]
The postcard features a typical scene along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, north of Chicago, Illinois. There are numerous private and public bathing beaches of this nature throughout Chicago’s north shore suburbs.
The postcard features the entrance to Ocean Pier in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. There are signs for movies, dancing, orchestras, gifts, popcorn, and a bath house.
Nantasket, Massachusetts Hotel Nantasket and Beach
The postcard features a view of the Hotel Nantasket and beach from the rocks in Nantasket, Massachusetts. Nantasket Beach was considered the playground of the Indians and was the Colonial and modern Boston’s summer resort. The beach is about an hour’s drive from Boston.
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City Auditorium and Convention Hall by Night
The postcard features a fantastic view of the Atlantic City Auditorium and Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey at night. At the time at the postcard was published, it was the largest convention hall in the world with a seating capacity of 40,000 and a ball room capacity of 5,000. Today it’s known as the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. It’s still the largest grossing mid-size arena in the United States. [AC Hotel Experts]
Atlantic City, New Jersey Traymore Hotel Bathing Beach
The postcard features the bathing beach in front of the Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Traymore Hotel was one of Atlantic City’s oldest hotels. It remained popular until tourism to the area declined in the 1950s and 1960s. The hotel was demolished in 1972.
The postcard features the view from Ventnor Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Ventnor City is a quiet, peaceful residential sector of Atlantic City famous for its magnificent beaches, boardwalk, piers, and tennis courts.
Download the complete set of original ratio postcards in one PDF file containing 14 8.5″ x 11″ pages with two postcards per page.
Please note: The preview image featured above has a black border because it gets confusing having so much white space in blog images. The pages in the PDF file don’t have black borders.
The following download features two 8.5″ x 11″ pages with nine beach-themed ATC-size cards per page for a total of 18 cards. ATCs are perfect for artist trading cards and DIY projects!
Please note: Again, I’ve added a black border to the preview image. The digital collage sheet downloads don’t have black borders.