Postcrossing Blog

I promised I’d review E.C.R. Lorac’s Post After Post-Mortem next, a book by one of my favourite British writers from the “Golden Age” of crime fiction (think Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, etc). This particular book was published in 1936 (and republished recently by the British Library in 2022, so it’s fairly easy to get hold of!), and features Lorac’s series detective, Chief Inspector Macdonald. The title refers to the fact that the whole mystery turns on a letter sent by a woman who rather suddenly died, revealing that her death was highly unlikely to be a suicide (which is what it is originally assumed to be).

Before digging in further, I ought to mention first that I found this one a little bit heavy-going due to the subject matter. Because the death is initially thought to be a suicide, the victim’s family suffer quite a bit as a result—and then again when they learn that she was actually murdered, and through being unable to quite trust one another. Unlike some writers of that period, Lorac had quite a gift for writing about places and people that you instinctively care for, so the distress of the characters and the strained feeling in their home all ring quite true for the reader as well. This definitely didn’t feel “cosy” to me in the way that people sometimes call Golden Age crime cosy. It’s not gory or anything, nor gratuitous in any way, but I couldn’t take it lightly.

Anyway, to turn back to the story itself, it fits our theme of books about the mail because the crime is only discovered because the victim happened to send a cheerful letter to her brother right before she supposedly killed herself. I won’t “spoil” the details too much, but it feels like the author thought about the way the postal service works to work out the mystery. In sending a letter or a postcard, you never quite know when it will arrive, and how things will look when it lands on the recipient’s doormat. It’s a little bit creepy to think about receiving a letter from someone after they’ve died, to be honest; it’s a clever story device, but it also provides that human touch for the characters, in showing her brother’s strained reaction.

So I think it’s possible some people might find this one a bit too upsetting, especially as the discovery that it was a murder is at least a third of the way into the book, if not more. I think it was worth it, but in the end, it was a book I appreciated a lot but didn’t love: it is well-written, with characters I cared about and an outcome that mattered to me as the reader, but perhaps less escapist than a lot of the Golden Age crime fiction. If you’d like to give E.C.R. Lorac’s work a try but feel you’d rather skip this one, Death of an Author (also recently reissued by the British Library) had me riveted! The postal service features somewhat less prominently in that book, though. (Boo!)

I’m not sure now what the next book to review should be; if you have any suggestions, then let me know via the forum (you may need to spend some time looking around the forum before that section unlocks). Until next time, happy reading!

To many, the name “Mulready” might not ring a bell… but more avid postcard-connoisseurs will know that these were the grandfathers of postcards! Introduced in May 6, 1840, Mulready stationery were pre-paid postal envelopes designed by artist William Mulready as an alternative to the Penny Black stamp. Despite the intricate design symbolizing the British postal system’s reach, they were mercilessly mocked at the time and overshadowed by the popularity of adhesive postage stamps.

Sometime ago, Graham Beck from popular Youtube channel Exploring Stamps produced this great video about Mulready stationery, in which he interviewed Robin Cassell at Stampex. Robin is an expert and dealer of this type of items, and tells its fascinating and troubled story. If you like philately and postcard history, don’t miss it!

Are there other videos or resources out there about postcards that we should check out? Let us know in the comments — we’re always eager to learn more!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

As I write this ready for the new month, I’m headed down to Wales for a visit to my family. There won’t be much time for sightseeing, as it’s very much a flying visit, but hopefully I can pick up some postcards (and maybe send out one or two) showing my favourite places in Wales. Which brings me to this month’s writing prompt: let’s talk about some beautiful places, and share our love for them.

For me, the answer was immediately obvious: Castell Coch. I’ve talked about it before on the blog, because something about it has always grabbed my imagination, ever since I was little. “Castell Coch” is Welsh for “Red Castle”, after the warm-coloured sandstone that the walls are built from. The current building is from the 19th Century, and is in the Gothic Revival style, but it’s built on the site of earlier fortifications, and it has extremely beautiful interiors designed by an architect called William Burgess.

But my favourite part of Castell Coch isn’t the view up close and personal (though it’s very worth a personal investigation), or the view from the towers. The thing I think is really magical about Castell Coch is the way it looks rising above the trees, from a bit of a distance. Those spires on the towers make it just like a fairytale, maybe even a little Disney-like, and the trees rising all around it make it a little mysterious. You can catch a glimpse of it just driving past on the motorway: as a child on various trips with my grandparents, I always got very excited by the chance to see my favourite castle as we drove by.

If I’m really lucky this weekend, I’ll be able to grab some postcards showing Castell Coch—maybe even an aerial view, or at least a photograph of it nestled among the trees. What are the views and landmarks that you just can’t wait to share? Bonus points if you can send a postcard showing that view, I’d say! But you can also share your thoughts here—we’d all love to hear about the beautiful places you love.

Clark Little is an award-winning photographer based in Hawai’i. His 2022 book, The Art of Waves, was published as a postcard set in 2023.

In 2007, Clark realized his passion for shore break photography when his wife, Sandy, brought home a photograph of a wave to decorate their bedroom wall. Clark immediately bought a waterproof camera and used his experience as a surfer to begin recording his own perspectives of Hawaiian waves. Since then he has gained international recognition for his photography with magazine features in National Geographic and LIFE, and exhibitions throughout the US and internationally in Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America.

A while ago, Clark took time out from the waves to answer a few questions from Clarisse (aka CStar9), our intrepid reporter!

Your audience for this interview is international, from more than 200 countries. How do you think oceans unite us?

We live on a planet mostly covered by ocean. Water is 70% of earth’s surface, and of that, more than 95% is salt water. The ocean connects us all.

To me, being in the water, especially salt water, feels the most natural of anything to do. I feel alive. I think others can feel that too and have a connection to it on a higher level.

The Art of Waves was recently released as a postcard set. Why postcards? And what is your relationship to snail mail?

I love postcards.

When I first started photography 15 years ago, one of the first things I did was print a series of postcards. The local stores on the North Shore and Starbucks coffee shops let me leave stacks in there. I’d give them away for free. It exposed all of these people to my photography and got the word out. The postcards drove people to my website where I could then sell prints.

When Penguin Random House published my new book, all of us involved really wanted paper products to go with it. We wanted the photos to live outside the pages of a book: a jigsaw puzzle for those who love games and a challenge and who want to get to know an image intimately. Postcards for people who love to collect and put something on their walls, and to share.

Postcards are a chance to spread the images around the world. It’s an incredible format for sharing my photography. For people who don’t want to buy a larger print, postcards are a great way to have a small piece of my artwork. The printing is beautiful – full color! It can be framed and put up on the wall or on the refrigerator with a magnet, and of course mailed and shared with family and friends.

I don’t send too much mail myself, but receiving mail is great. So much fun to go to the mailbox and see what’s in there.

In five words or less, what do you hope your photography conveys about the shore break?

Nature’s power, beauty, and magic.

What does scoping a new photography site look like for you? Do you surf to get a feel for the place, or watch from shore, just dive in with your camera, or something else?

I don’t surf much any longer. Once I got hooked on photography, I stopped surfing. I tried to surf a few times but all I could think about was the great shots I was missing.

So…. no, I don’t surf a new location first. The main thing I do is watch: see how the waves are breaking, how the currents are running. Try to figure out the bottom before I go out.

If there is someone out surfing or doing something in the water, I’ll see how they move around and are affected by the waves. If someone is on the beach, I’ll ask questions.

One thing I have learned, and we are taught from an early age in Hawaii, is to respect nature and its power. Nature always has the last say and makes the big decisions.

And then sometimes you just have to jump in and figure it out as you go. I have been caught in some pretty dicey situations. Like shooting very large waves in hidden valleys with only my assistant around and no cell reception in case I got hurt or sucked out to sea.

Or, shooting directly in front of an active lava flow. The lava was coming onto the beach and I was just a stone throw away shooting waves. I was trying to get a shot of the red hot lava at the end of a tube. I didn’t realize what looked like a sandy beach was actually glass-like shards of fresh lava. After just 15 minutes of getting tossed in the waves I was bleeding everywhere. Just walking on the “beach” to and from the water, I had cuts all over the bottom of my feet. And I didn’t get a good shot, which was just as painful!

Is there a page in the book (or card in the postcard set) that conjures a story for you that you’d like to share?

This postcard photo of a wave breaking on dry sand titled “Last Blast” is one of the most unique perspectives. “Last Blast” is also in my book. This type of shot really caught people’s attention when I was starting out. The most common questions were, “Is it real? What happened to the photographer?"

The average person, or even someone who surfs a lot, couldn’t be in this position getting a photo like this. It’s dangerous and requires perfect timing. It’s a large wave breaking on the dry sand. In another second, it will crash down and send me and my 10-pound camera flying up the beach. Sometimes I am swept up the beach over a hundred feet. Once in a while, I even lose my $10k camera and rig – which I’ve always been able to find and retrieve. With all of the beatings I take, I only get a few really good shots each year. The ratio is really low, but when I get a great shot, it’s worth it all.

These are called “Run and Gun” shots. You can’t swim around in the water in these type of waves – they break right on dry sand. It’s a technique where I run down the beach and throw myself on the sand at the foot of a wave right before it heaves over. I am in the pocket for a few seconds and snap as many shots as I can during the calm before the explosion. I love seeing the grains of sand, the water throwing over in a perfect arch, and some palm trees outside the tube. I never get sick of these shots.

When did you first see yourself as a full-time professional photographer? What would you tell the person you were 20 years ago about this move?

14 years ago – the week I appeared on live TV in the US showing my photography on Good Morning America: that was the transition point. The show was seen by something like 4–5 million people. Things just blew up after that. The week started with a UK newspaper featuring a handful of my shots and ended with this television appearance. My website almost crashed with the volume of sales and emails. It was the first time I thought I could be a professional photographer and make a living from it.

And the momentum kept going, so a few months later I quit my job as a supervisor at a botanical garden in Hawaii. It was a job I held for 17 years and thought I’d be doing it until I retired. I had all of the benefits and steady income. It was a safe path with kids, wife, and a mortgage. Once I jumped into photography full time, things went to the next level.

If I was to go back 20 years ago, I would tell myself, quitting my job was the best decision of my life. I’d also remind myself, don’t hesitate to do something if it feels right. If you have a passion for something and an opportunity presents itself, don’t talk yourself out of it. Go for it… full throttle!

To learn more about Clark and his work, check out his website, where you’ll find out more about his photography but also links to interviews he’s done over the years. And we really recommend watching this Nikon short documentary about Clark, to see him in action in the ocean!

And here comes the traditional giveaway! Clarisse is happy to award four postcrossers with a postcard from this lovely set. For your chance to receive one, comment below to let us know how you feel about the sea: do you live or take holidays by the sea? When was the first time you saw the ocean? And did you ever get knocked over by a wave breaking near the shore?

It’s been a while since we’ve had a friendship story on the blog, and we miss them!

A while ago, postcrosser Nan (aka NanPC) sent us a very nice message to let us know about a remarkable friendship she started with Sébastian (aka Seb_Hcd) and his family in France! As it often goes in Postcrossing, it all started with a postcard… but we’ll let Nan tell the story!

"I received the above card in May 2019 from the sender in Caen (in Normandy, France). When I registered it, I remarked that my uncle had been involved in the D-Day invasion. From there, the sender, Sébastien and I began an email correspondence. He told me about his deep understanding of what the Allies had done for his country and I shared pictures from my uncle’s photo album. Sébastien and his family sent me memorabilia from the D-Day celebrations. We exchanged more emails and photos and gifts. I saw their New Year’s decorations and they asked for a photo of our Thanksgiving meal. When his family went on vacation, I got pictures and more postcards. Once we became Facebook friends, I saw what a devoted marathoner he was.

When my daughter became seriously ill in 2020, they kept up with the medical developments for the next two plus years through our CaringBridge webpage.

Last fall, he let me know that he was going to run in the New York City Marathon in November and then the family would be taking a few more days to visit Washington DC. At last we could meet up, since I live an hour from there! My daughter and I met them for a lovely dinner in DC. Their two teenagers were just as nice as they could be. It was fun!

When I mentioned my intention to visit the Normandy beaches, they invited me to stay with them. Sébastien wanted to show me the historical sites that he has known and treasured since he was a teen. I made that visit some months ago. I was overwhelmed with their hospitality and kindnesses. His sweet wife, Ange Elique drove us everywhere (he had a broken leg) and took a week of her vacation time to host, entertain and feed me. She even gave me handmade gifts.

Although we do not have command of each other’s languages, we used interpreting devices on our phones and did fine.

Postcrossing has led to a friendship that would not have happened any other way. I am deeply grateful and wanted you to know what transpired because of a simple postcard."

Thank you Nan and Sébastien, for sharing your friendship story with us! :)

What about you? Have you made some nice friends through Postcrossing? If you feel up to it, write to us about it — we’d love to hear it!