Postcrossing Blog

Guy Atkins has been collecting postcards for years, especially from the Edwardian era. This was the golden period of postcards, which were then at the height of their popularity. With up to 6 daily mail deliveries (imagine that!), many people used them as we use Twitter or text messages these days — just to say “I’m thinking about you” or to convey some practical information (“I’ll arrive on the 10am train”).

It’s not so much the pictures on the postcards that capture Guy’s curiosity — instead he prefers the fascinating messages they hold. It all started when he was browsing an antiques market in London, where he found a perfectly boring postcard, sent on 21 December 1904 to Miss Emerson… which hid a very intriguing message. It said:

“Come home at once, all is forgiven. We have not had any news from father. There is heaps of m – – – y waiting for you to spend. Surely after that you could not stay away.”

One cannot help but wonder… what happened? What did Miss Emerson do that needed forgiving? And did she stay away or go back home?

I guess we’ll never know. And yet, the thrill of that mysterious message stays with us, and it stayed with Guy as well, who decided to collect other such intriguing postcards from that time. He has just launched a book with 100 of his best cards, appropriately titled Come Home at Once.

We’ve had this book for a week or so, and I have to say, it is delightful. Perfectly sized, filled with mysterious messages that just draw you in and make you wonder. Some are funny, others shocking, some just confounding. Many don’t seem to say much at all… until you note the strategically positioning of the stamp, hiding a whole other layer of meaning. Some… well, we’re still trying to figure them out!

In order to promote his new book, Guy and his publisher have generously offered to give away 10 copies of the book to 10 lucky postcrossers! It’s like an early Christmas treat! :)

For a chance to win one, all you have to do is leave a comment below. And if you have any tips on how one could make the message on a postcard more intriguing, do share!

Good luck everyone! Check back on this post around this time next week for the winners (randomly picked by Paulo’s number generator, as usual).

Hello everybody, olá! You’ll never believe where we are!

Oh, well… the title kind of gave that one away, didn’t it? Anyway, that’s right – we’re in Brazil, the country that hosted the very exciting World Cup this summer! People here sure love football, but there’s so much more to this country, and we were really eager to explore it all with our host Felipe (aka felipeduarte).

Felipe lives in the state of Pará, in the Amazon region. He showed us his postcard collection and we could see all Brazil in postcards and get an appetizer of what our time here would look like!

The capital of Pará is Belém, also known as “Metropolis of the Amazon”. It is a very interesting city, where over 1.500.000 people live. Being so close to the Equator, the city has a tropical rainforest climate, with temperatures averaging 25°C (77°F) year round!

We visited one of the most beautiful churches in Belém, the Basilica of Our Lady of Nazareth. The interiors, decorated with marble and gold, were just incredible!

Every October since 1793, a huge procession in celebration Mary takes place in Belém – it is named Círio de Nazaré and gathers more than two million people, the biggest catholic event in Brazil! Here are some photos that Felipe showed us:

Really impressive! After that, we went to the great República Square, where one of the most relevant landmarks in Belém is located: Paz Theatre. Voted as one of the wonders of Brazil, this large theatre was built in 1878, during the Amazon rubber boom. During those days (and up until 1912), Belém was called “Paris in America” due to its richnesses and prosperity.

By lunch time, we headed over to Ver-o-peso (literally, “see-the-weight”) market, the most representative landmark in Pará. It is the biggest outdoors market in Latin America! You can see it on one of Felipe’s postcards:

Fresh fish is sold on the Iron Market (the blue one, with towers) and there are also lots of tents, where you can find anything, from food to clothes, herbs and essences, regional or international. It’s a very culturally rich place!

Well… all this native fruit is making us hungry, it’s time to try the Brazilian cuisine! The base of day-to-day food is rice and beans, and of course meat and chicken, with some regional variations. The people from Pará really appreciate a native fruit named açaí berry, which is now widely used by athletes as an energy drink. It is a purple seed that is drank as a dense liquid. And of course, we had to try a brigadeiro, a very typical chocolate bonbon. So, so good — and just the perfect size!

After getting to know a little about the city, we decided to explore one of the nature parks in the area, the Mangal das Garças (Herons’ Mangal).

It’s a really incredible place to see nature and observe several species of animals and plants. The red bird is named guará (or scarlet ibis) and the white ones are garças (herons). They roam around freely in the park.

This tower is the Belém Lighthouse, which is 47 metres tall and has quite an unusual architecture for a lighthouse, don’t you think? We went up to the observation platform… the view from up there is breathtaking!

It’s said that it rains everyday in there. And look at those dark clouds… it must be coming! Quick, let’s step indoors and learn something about the region’s culture and handicrafts.

The indigenous marajoara pottery and natural rubber animal figures were quite intriguing. We also learnt that Belém was founded in 1616 and is now eagerly waiting to celebrate its fourth centenary! We visited the place where the city started: a citadel named Feliz Lusitânia.

On top in left, an old canon in Forte do Castelo, a portuguese fortress. On the right side, the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Finally, we went to the Belém Central Post office to send a postcard home.

We saw there the machines used by the Post in the past: Morse code devices, scales and writing machines, but we loved the postboxes the best!

On the left, the old Brazilian ones, used in the early 1900s and on the right, the current ones, that have a very unusual shape.

And that’s it for this amazing trip! Off we go into our padded envelope again…

… but not without first heartily recommending this lovely country to everyone! Our experience in Brazil was fantastic, what an amazing country. And of course — a big thank you to our host Felipe for his hospitality! :)

See you soon everyone!

Nothing melts our hearts like the happy combination of children and postcards. They might be young, but they can already appreciate the magic and awe behind these little pieces of paper!

When Audrey was born, her dad opened her an account on Postcrossing, so that she could receive postcards from all around the world. This was two years ago, and though she is still too young to read her postcards, she’s been enjoying Postcrossing in other, simpler ways.

Alan Yung (Audrey’s dad) shared these lovely photos with us:

Doesn’t she look sweet? Alan says Audrey is excited to pick up her postcards from their post box and can even recognize the origin of a few of the cards she receives by the stamps she’s familiar with! Many nice people send her cards with all sorts of cute characters and animals, and often cover the back with stickers and drawings.

Audrey also helps with the sending part of the process sometimes, by helping her dad drop the postcards in mailboxes all around town, which she learned to recognize! :)

Although Audrey doesn’t always understand the messages, Alan says that sometimes during bed time, she’ll ask for her pile of cards to go through the pictures again. Awwww… I must confess, I quite like the idea that all these postcrossers are helping put Audrey to sleep every night! :)

What about you? Did you ever share your postcards with your children or grandchildren? Leave a comment below – we’d love to hear about it!

Over one hundred years ago, in February 1913, Maude Hart and her husband embarked on a journey across the world. Postcards were at the height of their popularity back then, and Maude wrote back to their family often during their 9 month trip, especially to her sister Myrtle (who she calls Toots) and her mother “Mussey”.

Family mementos like postcards and their stories have a way of getting lost when people move or families unite and separate… but somehow, Maude’s postcards survived 100 years until Patricia Eacobacci (Maude’s great grandniece) discovered them in her mother’s things and put the story together. She scanned, deciphered and uploaded every card with a lot of care, and set up a blog to share her Postcards from Maude.

The first time we laid eyes on this collection we were quite speechless. Postcards are often seen as a one-off thing, but Maude’s postcards (as well as her photos and letters) tell the tales of a epic adventure from another era, one that took place over the course of 9 months. The trip, organized by Thomas Cook & Son, started in San Francisco, and went on to Hawaii, Japan, Philippines, China, Singapore, India, Egypt, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Ireland and then back to the US. Here are some snippets:

Tokyo, Japan April 5
Hello Toots
We are doing Tokyo – a wonderful City. 3 millions natives living here. Only 50 Americans. Just think of it.
Maude

Port Said, Egypt. May 22.
My Dear Mama, We are now going through the Suez Canal in Egypt. Can only go 4 miles an hour. It is very narrow. Tomorrow we get off & go through Egypt for 14 days. This is a most interesting country. Will take 18 hours to pass through Canal.
Much Love,
Maude

Amsterdam, Holland – Sunday night Sept 7.
My Dear Mama.
Hello Mussey dear, how are you? Here is a view of a wooden wind mill. You see hundreds of them here & the people are dressed just like this. We leave here tomorrow. Hope I hear from home when I reach Brussels.
Tons of love,
Maude

Towards the end, you can feel Maude’s homesickness and her eagerness to return to her dear family. On October 22nd 1913, she boarded the SS Majestic bound to the United States on the final stretch of her trip, and wrote again on October 31st, delighted to see New York once more.

These postcards (and the story within them) are a real treat. Thank you Patricia, for all the work and research, and for sharing them with the world! You can see all of Maude’s postcards and follow her voyage in the Postcards from Maude blog.

Andrea (aka Sprinkledonut) is a world traveler and her beautifully decorated postcards caught the attention of some of you, who suggested we interviewed her for the Spotlight… here she is!

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

Hmm, you mean there was a time in my life before Postcrossing? Haha! I joined four years ago after learning about it on another website that I am passionate about: Couchsurfing.org. Someone posted about it in one of the group forums. I am very grateful to them wherever they are today!

I was hooked from the get-go! I loved seeing what types of interesting cards people would send me, what their handwriting looked like and all the little details.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

Here’s our typical Canadian mailbox, covered in postal codes as an anti-graffiti measure. It seems to work! Whenever I drop in my postcards it sounds like they’re landing in a hollow cavern 10,000 miles below the surface of the earth. Where’s everybody else’s mail, I wonder??

Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?

I received a random card from Fiji which was very special. I’m a big fan of direct swaps so some of my fun direct swaps have been with people in New Zealand, Estonia, Kenya and Bangladesh.

Sometimes I like to check out this site to see what new stamps are being issued around the world. With the direct swaps to New Zealand and Estonia, I asked the people if they could send me a particular wonderful stamp and they were happy to help! Thanks, guys!

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

Bicycle cards are my absolute favourite to receive. Here’s just part of my bike collection:

Airmail stickers from around the world and some favourite art-themed postcards:

Cards with quotes and positive messages. You can see two here from my friend Yvonne in the Netherlands who always sends me fantastic cards!

Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing or start collections of their own?

When I was buying stamps in Portugal, all of the people in their post offices were really friendly. I told one of the postal workers about it and wrote down the website for him, which he immediate showed to his coworkers. I think he was excited to check it out! Some of my friends have signed up, too, when they saw what beautiful postcards I was receiving.

Maybe you have read this tip before but they say the best way to get mail is to send mail. I make a habit of sending postcards to my friends so now lots of my friends will send me postcards when they travel or just for no occasion but because they saw a card that they know I will like.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

Definitely working on outgoing cards for people!

I try to choose a card that fits what they like to collect but the part I really love is decorating the back of the card. It’s a bit of an elaborate process…first choosing the stamps (always more than one!), then glitter around the border. Next the stickers. Then the rubber stamps! Finally if there is any room left, I can write a tiny message. Haha, if you have received one of my cards you will know what I’m talking about. My goal is always to give someone a happy surprise when they turn the card over to read it. Plus when I’m busy working on the cards, it is like a form of art therapy for me. It’s really fun and I get to be creative.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Well, traveling and couchsurfing are a big hobby of mine. I’ve been part of Couchsurfing for over ten years. It’s an online project that connects travelers with hosts in cities around the world. I recently couchsurfed my way around Portugal this past June. Couchsurfing.org has the same kind of open, caring, friendly and generous spirit that Postcrossing has! Making the world seem just a little bit smaller. And of course I tell my hosts all about Postcrossing when they see me writing loads of postcards.

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

I love to participate in Free Hugs events. So far I have given hugs in: Vancouver, Seattle, New York, Barcelona, Lisbon, Montreal and Austin. When we have a hugs event, people often ask why we are doing it. To share some love with the world. To make you feel good for a moment or maybe longer. To take away some stress, fear or loneliness. And hopefully because it feels nice and makes us both smile! Like sending a postcard.