Postcrossing Blog

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!

Did you watch Sesame Street growing up? It was a big part of our childhood in Portugal, and stumbling on clips with familiar songs and stories is something we’ll never get tired of. This week, we bring you two videos from the US version of Sesame Street which are all about mail and will maybe cause some nostalgia, for those who grew up with them. 😊

First comes “Big Bird & Snuffy Mail a Letter”, which in its funny way helps kids learn the different steps of mailing a letter. You’d think it was easy… but there’s actually a lot to it, especially if you’ve never done it before! With some help from the adults and children of the neighborhood, Big Bird and Snuffy succeed in getting it done:

And here’s another one titled “I am a letter”, from 1970 — a song that is all about mail and mail delivery!

If you watched Sesame Street, did you know these clips? Were they were recreated with local characters in your country’s version of the series? Or, do you remember other clips about mail from TV series you used to watch? We love discovering these, so please do share them with us on the comments!

Remember a few years ago, when we shared the mystery of the Ford Tanus déjà vu? There’s a Vox video about something similar being shared around this week, and it’s just super neat. Have a look!

How cool is that?! Once you see the cloud shaped like a sea creature, it’s hard to “un-see” it! If you’re curious and want to spot a few cloud patterns of your own, you can explore James postcards on his Flickr page — there’s lots of peculiar collections to see.

Only by putting these postcards together side by side can one begin to see the patterns emerge, like noticing the same clouds or the same car parked in a corner of a card. I wonder how many more patterns could postcrossers detect, if they laid all their postcards out like that… Give it a try and let us know if you spot something interesting! 😊

When we wrote about postcards sent from an underwater postbox in Susami, Japan, we came across another record-breaking postal service: the world’s highest post office, at 4,400 metres above sea-level.

Located in India, the post office of Hikkim is a vital part of its community. Far from being a novelty like an underwater postbox, the postmaster Rinchen Chhering handles thousands of letters—in the video below he mentions that more than 1,000 letters a day get posted in the summer—to keep people in touch despite a lack of mobile or internet coverage… and the post office also handles money deposits and passports!

Check out the video to hear more about Hikkim and their record-breaking post office!

PS: Less than 50,000 postcards until postcard 60 million is registered! Have you placed your bet yet? 😊

Since we’re sort of on the topic of movies, have you ever seen “Il Postino” (aka, The Postman)? The movie might be over 20 years old, but it’s a magical one, featuring a postman as the central character. Timeout’s synopsis is pretty spot on:

“When, in 1952, the exiled Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda (Noiret) takes up residence in a house on a quiet little island off the Neapolitan coast, the fan mail he receives is so copious that the postmaster hires Mario (Troisi), the none too bright son of a local fisherman, to deliver the celebrity’s mail. At first, Mario is simply star-struck by Neruda, who responds with understandable wariness to the postman’s gauche attempts at conversation; soon, however, he’s teaching Mario about metaphors, and when the postman falls for Beatrice (Cucinotta), a lovely but rather aloof barmaid, the poet agrees to try to help him win her with words. Inspired by an incident in Neruda’s life, the story’s engaging blend of easy humour and sunny romance takes hold from the start and never lets go. Much of its seductive charm derives from the excellence of the leads: Noiret does his gruff but malleable turn to perfection, while Troisi (who died soon after filming finished) exudes a simplicity of heart, mind and soul that never seems excessively sentimental. Mercifully, Radford avoids making the small peasant community too glamorously Arcadian. Old-fashioned it may be, but it knocks the spots off pap like Cinema Paradiso.”

And here’s the trailer, if you’d like to have a look:

So that’s our suggestion for your weekend entertainment! Do you have other mail-themed movies we should check out? Let us know in the comments!