Danish West Indies Postcards

The three main islands that were known as the Danish West Indies are

St. Croix, St. Thomas & St. John. Denmark owned these islands

from the mid-18th Century until 1917 when Denmark sold the islands to

the U. S. for $25 Million. These islands became to be known as

the U.S. Virgin Islands and are now a world-class tourist destination.

St. Thomas

Postcards from these islands that were published pre-1917 usually have

the phrase Danish West Indies or simply D.W.I. in the caption. We

find cards that were published pre-1905 that have undivided backs and

often do not indicate who the publisher was. These latter cards

are a premium if found in very good or better condition. The

cards published between 1905 and 1917 with divided backs often indicate

who published the card.

St. Croix

Some of the most sought after publishers are St. Thomas: John

Lightbourn (the 3 cards in this guide were published by him), Edward

Fraas & Taylor’s Book Store; St. Croix: Axel Ovesen, Mrs. R.

D. Benjamin & J. Niles; St. John: John Lightbourn.

St. John

Many collectors choose to collect cards from only one of the islands, other collectors

will collect certain publishers and others will collect certain

subjects: Shipping, Coaling, Architecture, People at Work et al. Other

collectors are interested in postal history and will look for stamps,

cancellations or unique destinations.

I have bought and sold these cards from people from countries around the world:

Japan, Norway, Denmark, U.S. Virgin Islands, England &

France. I think as more people visit these beautiful islands, the

popularity of these cards will increase.