Ok…this is a bit of a “technical” (aka nerdy) post because it dwells on some details that are perhaps of no of interest to most collectors, but which apply to a lot of Disneyland postcards. This topic can also help the new collector understand one of the more important aspects of the hobby…namely, that you can have a complete collection of the images produced, 
without having a complete collection of the cards themselves.
We will use the “African Veldt” cards as an example. The African Veldt is part of the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland. It shows some zebra, giraffe, gnus, and the like roaming around in a field of bushes and rocks (…in Anaheim). Card NT0306 (pictured at top right) is the first time we see this image. In the background you can see some lions eating a dead Zebra, and even some hyena if you look closely. The image is reproduced in NT0696…but is cropped and taken from a slightly different angle for NT0697 (pictured below right). The lions are out of the picture as well as the hyenas. For NT0816 and NT0922 we get the same image on front with minor textual variations on the back.
So what’s the point? It is this…that you can create a great collection of cards without getting anywhere near all of the NT numbers. If you are a completest geek…like me(!) then you will tend to go for the moon and get them all. But if you aren’t “touched” by that problem, you can put a really nice collection of images together that captures the full essence of this hobby without having to get every card. In this case…images on NT0696, NT0816 and NT0922 are superfluous.
This might be an obvious point to the more advanced collector…but if you are new to this hobby…keep this point in mind. It could save you a fair bit of time, money and sanity(!) if you chose to go this route.
Until next time…
P.S. There is still a a little less than two days left on this black and white castle card, NT0089. Don’t miss it…you almost never see these cards up for auction!
