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.
Nevada Fall, Yosemite (North Caroline)
Of course Yosemite isn't in North Carolina, but this postcard must have traveled there from Yosemite, only to make a return trip to California!
la retraite à Strasbourg (France)
Pour fêter sa première journée de retraite, Dominique m’a envoyé cette carte de sa ville de naissance. Bien sûr, elle offre plusiers occasions de profiter de la ville, la région, et leur histoire. Un jour, j’y irai et je pourrais, j’éspère, connaître Dominique en personne pour lui remercier toutes les jolies cartes postales pendant les années, et bien sûr son amitié.
let's have a kiki (Pennsylvania)
Mejdulene was giving a presentation at my alma mater and stopped by a favorite old haunt of mine, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She writes, aptly: “the girls are having a kiki!”
Quéribus (France)
Mon ami Dominique écrit ici sur les vins corbières, dont je n’avais jamais avant entendu parlé, ni moins goûté. Biensûr, j’ai gouté des vins qu’y sont élevés (Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Marsanne, Picpoul, Mourvèdre, Roussanne, Syrah, et Vermentino) mais je ne pense pas en avoir bu de l’AOC soi-même.
Parisian love (Washington)
Since I started saying that I would welcome LGBTQ postcards, including nudes, I’ve received lots of men! This is one of the few women-centered cards I’ve received, and it’s a welcome addition to my collection.
handyman (Minnesota)
The sender of this postcard writes about queer families moving out of Florida when things started to go really sideways. I certainly can’t blame them - when your government turns openly, nakedly, unabashedly hostile against your existence, why pay them taxes?
Pinkwashing (California)
Kimee picked this postcard up for me at Sour Cherry Comics. The enticing front leads to the back where we (re)learn an important lesson about Pinkwashing which is how liberals are sold the genocide of the Palestinians to liberals.
Postcrossers’ Winter Day (Finland)
I am still in awe of Jussi’s ability to attend all of these great PostCrossing meetups! This one from early February. He was quite thrilled that his favorite team won the Super Bowl!
weird old things (Massachusetts)
Mejdulene sent this truly charming postcard from her new campus, which she writes “is full of weird old things like this gargoyle.” The feeling of haste to share all of it with me is entirely mutual!
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?