Here are the postcards!
I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.
My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).
One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.
I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.
LouPaper Thanksgiving (Oregon)
I so love the artwork for LouPaper and I haven’t seen this Thanksgiving one before! Of course Linda sent it - she has such a great eye for postcards. <3
Deauville (France)
Dominique a pris quelques jours de bien être en Normandie ici à Deauville, pas trop loin des places de débarquement de D-Day. Comment dont parlent-ils les français, je me demande…
two black cats (Virginia)
Our friend Quinn was in the US to visit a friend and sent us this postcard from the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virgina! I wish I’d visited when I was in Richmond all those years ago.
Avignon par Gordot (France)
Voici une peinture d’Avignon par Claude-Marie Gordot (1722-1804) que Dominique m’a envoyée. Il a écrit que le facteur lui avait dit que parfois il entre dans la rue que pour lui donner du courriel à lui tout seul - surtout des cartes postales. Moi aussi j’ai eu des conversations pareils avec le facteur, qui se rend compte que j’en reçois beaucoup de carte postales!
Vienna multiview (Austria)
Jörg was visiting Austria recently and sent his best from this beautiful city. I’ve only been to Salzburg, so there’s lots more Austria for me to discover!
police feline (China)
This postcard comes from a 35-year old in China with really nice handwriting and beautiful stamps.
art nude (Australia)
Matty is getting ready for his big trip this year; he’s visiting Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Palau, and Japan! What a world traveler!
“baleine” by Paul Windsor (Canada)
Andy picked this postcard up while he was in Vancouver on Granville Island! I’m excited to visit it myself in 2026.
This postcard is strange because it has a Canadian stamp on it but US Postal Service cancellations. Weird.
sea turtle facts (Michigan)
Our niece Lauren sent this postcard with an update about the diving season, which by all accounts is going quite well!
Woodstock (New York)
My dear friend Aleksa traveled to New York recently and even visited Woodstock! I’ve never been there at all.
Senák’w (Canada)
Andy sent this postcard from his more recent trip in early November to Vancouver, and it arrived just a week or two later. I’m eager to visit Granville Island when we both travel to Vancouver in February!
if looks could kill (France)
One more arresting piece from the Museum that Dominique visited.
épingle au paon (France)
In Oyonnax, there is a museum of combs and plastic arts that Dominique visited, with tons of incredible things in the collection! This peacock peacock pin is particularly beautiful.
cathedral basilica of Oria (Italy)
Lino sends this postcard from a visit he made to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The translation on the back is curious:
Dedicated to Maria Ss Assunta in Cielo stands on one of the hills of Oria where in the past stood Romanic Cathedral damaged during the violent eartquake [sic] of Nardò in 1743. From this church there is access to the charming but gloomy Crypt of the Mummies, a cave modified by man over the years that contains the mummified bodies of brethren of the Order of the Death, this Order still controls the crypt.
later postcard (Canada)
Here’s another postcard Andy sent at the end of September which didn’t arrive until mid-November. I do love the later postcards, those sent well after their purchase and/or writing. No shade to Canada Post - I will (almost?) always support striking workers!
le Baeckeoffe (France)
This is a recipe that Dominique really enjoys, although he cautions that it must be homemade and in the proper baking dish! I may pick one up while I’m in Alsace next summer!
Scotch Lodge (Oregon)
This is a postcard from one of the places we recommended to Ebru and Mehmet, which they reported enjoying via text message! If you haven’t visited Scotch Lodge, I highly recommend it both for the cocktails and the food!
suspicious Calgary (Canada)
This postcard didn’t arrive until mid-November; Andy was in Canada for business and bought a few postcards, stamping them and writing them. But due to the strike, he was unable to leave them in a mailbox, so he left them with the hotel staff instead. They mailed them for him after the strike! What great folks.
I entitled this suspicious because Andy wrote that his hotel is right across the street from the tower. He wondered if it had been built before the CN Tower in Toronto and if it’s some dick-measuring contest between Calgary and Toronto?
golden Portland (Oregon)
Ebru and Mehmet visited Portland last month and we were delighted to make a few suggestions on restaurants and bars they might enjoy. I’m pleased that we have the same taste in a few of them! This scan doesn’t do the postcard justice; it’s truly luminous!
Hell (Michigan)
Sometimes the sender (in this case, Michael) writes such a great message that it merits reproduction in full: “I can’t tell if this was a personal card or a mass production. Maybe this Spaniel was the most interesting thing in Hell, MI before they embraced the halloween camp? So many fascinating ephemera at the Pacific Grove consignment store!”