Leather postcards were very popular from around 1900 to 1909 when the postal service banned them. They were apparently too difficult to process using the sorting machines then in use. The postcards were generally made from deerskin and were decorated with the tip of a hot implement. The process was called pyrography and was a popular art form for middle class young women. As well as leather, the process was also used on wood and some wooden postcards have also survived.
One popular way to use the leather postcards was to collect them and sew them together to make a pillow. In fact, some leather postcards were produced with holes pre-punched along their edges for this purpose.