Postcrossing Blog

What is an address, really? What does it contain? For most of us, it’s just a number and a street name — a practical and short format that guides mail to a specific destination. But in some places, like Costa Rica, addresses are more like giving directions, in a way to combines memory, poetry, and community. Instead of “123 Main Street”, you might be sending a postcard to an address that looks like “100 meters south of the church, across from the old tree”. Sometimes the landmarks are not even there anymore, but their memory still guides postcards and people home.

María Luisa Santos and Carlo Nasisse made a short film, Direcciones, exploring how Costa Rican addresses weave together all these different elements, keeping alive the traces of landmarks that once existed and the stories of the people who lived around them.

For us, who depend on addresses to connect strangers around the globe, it’s a beautiful reminder that behind every line on an address there’s also history, loss, poetry and love for a place.

PS: If you’re interested in the topic, check out this previous video explaining the Japanese addressing system!

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? 😊