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.
Italian trio
Lino sent these great postcards from some trips he took around Italy along with some photos of the joint birthday party that he and his husband threw! I love having penpals so much; I get to learn great things about the world and the incredible humans who live in it.
Orlando (Florida)
Emily managed to get two great postcards from her trip to Orlando! This one has that great art style of letters depicting scenes of the city. I love this kind of postcard!
Alcatraz: Broadway (California)
Lenticular cards never scan that well, but I hope it won’t distract from the great views of this postcard: two for one! You can see both Alcatraz Island and Broadway! If you haven’t visited the park, I highly recommend it! This postcard was given to me by a former student Victor as a gift of thanks for borrowing some books.
“finding comfort in pleasure” (Australia)
Matty sent this beautiful postcard from Australia, along with “lots of happy thoughts to [me] for the next 4 years.” We’re going to need these!
dangerous selfie (Oregon)
Linda really has a gift for finding the best postcards, this one being another nice example of such. Apparently, it’s a German company so I don’t know how she got it in Portland but I’m very lucky to have received it!
Adventure Awaits (Illinois)
Our niece Emily traveled to Florida to crash her aunt’s presentation in Orlando with her mom! They got a chance to visit Disney and she picked up this postcard from the park and mailed it! I do love the art and music of Moana.
Tamara de Lempicka (California)
Two weeks ago, Tracy and I visited the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to see the excellent Tamara de Lempicka exhibit before it closed. Just a few days later, Tracy sent this excellent postcard from a set of Women in Art she had! What serendipity!
Ankara and Istanbul (Türkiye)
My colleague and dear friend Ebru got these postcards for us when she was in Türkiye visiting her family last year. I’m so grateful she thought to buy them and write on them for me!
thank you illustration (Ontario)
I almost never include non-postcard content on my blog but this was just too good! Our friends’ son Walter celebrated a birthday recently and we found a copy of D’Aulaires’ Book of Trolls which we sent as a birthday gift. He had been introduced to the D’Aulaires’ books on mythology, a passion shared by his mother and me (and so many others). I checked out the Book of Norse Myths so many times that the school librarian let me keep it until someone else requested it! I was delighted to find the trolls book in a used bookstore in good condition, so we sent it and he was very excited to receive it. He illustrated this terrific thank-you card with trolls of his own design, which I find so fantastic.
Womb House Books (California)
How could you not love a bookstore named Womb House Books?! Luckily, Kimee and Michael report that the bookstore lives up to its name! Aggressively feminist, which is just the way I like my feminism!
more than pen friends (Ontario)
Another great postcard from Toronto! Andy visited some stationers while he was there and got me a great card (which I didn’t scan because it’s not a postcard) with a pop-up corgi! Here’s a beautiful postcard from Wonder Pens that he sent. He also gave me several blank postcards; maybe you dear reader will receive one?
mysterious humpback (Ontario)
Andy was in Canada again for work, this time in Toronto. Knowing how much I love sea mammals, especially cetacea, he chose this great postcard!
Reese (California)
Our friends Julian and Salvo sent this beautiful image as thanks. They’d been taken ill recently so I dropped off some soup and bread; what else does one do when their best friends are lain low by that awful flu that’s going around? I’m glad to hear they’re on the mend!
Black Mountain (Australia)
There’s something about this art style that makes it look like a science fiction novel. I’ve never been to Australia, but I am always hearing about the many beautiful parks. Surely, Black Mountain is among them! Thanks to Matty for sending this great card.
corner stories (California)
There was a store in our old neighborhood of the Lower Haight that had a shop dog — a German shepherd. And sometimes walking by the store, you wouldn’t see anyone there but the dog behind the counter, minding the shop. This is a delightful postcard and I’m so glad Kimee and Michael sent it!
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (Illinois)
Yet another delicious vintage postcard from our niece and her husband in Chicago. This one depicts the Panama-Pacific International Expo (1915) and some of the incredible buildings constructed for it. When you visit SF, do please visit the Palace of Fine Arts, the only remaining edifice from that time. It’s truly a beautiful place to spend an hour or two wandering around!
furry chested cowboy (Australia)
What a beautiful mosaic treatment of this photo, sent by my penpal Matty. He writes about the lovely gifts he received for the holidays!
Munster (France)
Mon ami à lettres, Dominique, m’a envoyé cette carte postale de Munster en Alsace. En plus des vins qu’y se fait, il y a aussi le fromage très célèbre qui n'est pas si différent au Maroilles qui vient du Nord où j'habitais pendant une année.
Fontana di Trevi (Italy)
My penpal Lini took a trip to Rome with his husband and they really enjoyed it! I’ve never seen this particular angle of the Trevi Fountain, only having seen it from eye-level. It’s even more stunning from above!
Johnson’s Corner Gas Station (Colorado)
Besides its iconic appearance, I wonder why this gas station merits a postcard? Doing a little light websearching, I see that it’s more than just a gas station. Apparently, Jack Kerouac wrote about having stopped there, in addition to other features of it that make it famous. Great!