Before smartphones, travel photos required a good camera and the skill to use it – or collect postcards. The charm of postcards lies in the “thinking of you” message, a personalized touch rather than a mass-shared post on Instagram.
While I have countless old, grainy photos and digital images saved on various drives, postcards offer a unique experience due to the personal note. Posting on social media or texting is easy, but selecting a postcard with an iconic image, writing a note, adding a stamp, and mailing it is a simple yet different gesture.
Our physical mailboxes usually contain junk, but a postcard brings unexpected joy. It’s a memory to cherish, often on a bulletin board, refrigerator, or in a basket with other postcards. I haven’t kept every postcard I’ve received, but I do have a large collection, mostly from family and some from friends.
Clearing out my dad’s house in 2021, I also enjoyed seeing postcards sent to my parents from trips with our kids. Now I understand why I keep the ones I’ve received. Postcards are the ultimate trip down memory lane.
Among my saved cards:
Several are from my sisters and their families in the 1990s and early 2000s. One is from a trip to Colorado, and several are from places in France that I would visit for the first time 20 years later!
In December 1996, a Disney postcard with Mickey and Minnie was sent from our neighbors’ kids to our kids. “How are you doing? I’m doing fine. Our pool has two slides. It is 70. We had to go on buses, and we rented a car. Your friend, Danielle.”
This is a postcard from my husband, who spent about seven months traveling for business during our engagement. In May 1987, in Rome, he wrote, “Your letter is great. I read it often. It helps me deal with loneliness.” It had a P.S. “Please save the postcards.” I did. Another one was from Amsterdam in June 1987. He wrote, “Love you forever, cutie. Miss you.”
Postcards make the world both bigger and smaller, thanks to the heartfelt messages they bring. Now more than ever, I hope we keep the tradition of sending postcards.
Two Links Du Jour:
Deltiology – A History of Picture Postcards
Greetings from the Smithsonian: A Postcard History
Two Minutes Du Jour 
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