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.
vérifiez la pression
Quelle beauté de publicité! Il est tellement important de vérifiez la pression des pneus avant de partir en n’importe quel trajet. Les pneus ici sont tellement mignons aussi - je les adore!
Vous pouvez sûrement deviner que cette carte postale vient de mon ami Dominique. Ici, il me raconte comment fonctionnent les permis de conduire en France. La-bàs, on quitte des points en cas d’infraction. Au Michigan où j’ai grandi, on les rajoute!
macarons and coffee (Germany)
This beautiful card comes complete with a lovely story of the sender’s visit to San Francisco, which she enjoyed very much! I particularly love these nesting heart mugs because one of them is certainly for a left-handed drinker! Most mugs aren’t made with southpaws in mind, so I love that these certainly are.
eastern and western meadowlark (Florida)
This is a terrific postcard since I love nature illustrations! Why are birds so captivating to watch and read about?
Also, can the average bird-watcher really see such subtle differences between the eastern and western meadowlarks (or do their ranges not overlap)?!
Meringues (California)
Oh, if only I could show the back of this postcard! Janie’s handwriting is a work of art, as are the terrific vintage stamps she finds and uses to send these postcards. The front, as you can see, is no slouch either though! And given my love of baking, it’s the perfect card! Thank you, Janie!
Sooner State (Oklahoma)
Is the title of this postcard redundant? Anyway, it’s a beautiful illustration of a state I know very little about, despite living just 60 minutes away for almost two years. I love the art here as it perfectly captures a warm, summer day.
Georgia Peach Pie
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
One of the things I request on my Postcrossing profile is recipes, and this postcard is absolutely perfect! Peaches are right in season now in California and I’ve been getting more into pie-baking this past year. Of course, Georgia is well-known for its peaches, so this postcard is right on time, too!
Sherlock Holmes (Russia)
This postcards makes its way from Russia and is absolutely terrific. I love the Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch, and this drawing is really arresting. The sender of the postcard responded to one of my suggested prompts by writing about something that’s really worrying her, which is environmental degradation and its impacts on humans and our environment. As the Pacific Northwest roasts in record-breaking heat this week and wildfires are already starting in California, this rings very true and urgent to me.
Kurjenrahka National Park (Finland)
This terrific image comes courtesy of my penpal in Finland! It depicts Kurjenrahka National Park, which features a raised bog. I will admit that from a distance in my mailbox, I first thought it was a Serengeti scene with the low, grasses and the sparse trees. Now I’m even more intrigued to visit!
Tower Bridge (California)
This postcard comes from our friends Greg and James in Sacramento. We haven’t seen them in some months, but we’re looking forward to a trip out their way soon. They write that this bridge used to be the same color as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, but that it was painted gold in the 90s. During the summer, there is an event where the best restaurants in the city host a meal on the bridge itself. Amazing!
Ferris Wheel Fun Facts (Oregon)
What a great postcard to welcome the start of summer! It arrived care of our dear friend Linda, who hosted us for a terrific back patio lunch just a few weeks ago. This card is also quite welcome because Andy and I had a mystery date to the SkyStar Wheel in Golden Gate Park last week. I was worried it would be kitschy and touristy, but it was a really pleasant experience! We rode our bikes to the park and then had almost no wait to get on the ferris wheel. We were also quite lucky to benefit from a discount for being SF residents and another for being members of the SFFAM!
La citadelle de Peyrepertuse (France)
Voici une carte postale de mon ami Dominique, qui toujours envoie les si belles paysages. Même si je vivais en France pendant presque un an, je ne connais presque rien de tout ce qu’elle peut offrir. Il faudrait toute une vie pour commencer a connaître tous ses cadeaux. Mais avec les cartes postales, je peux apprendre un peu sur quelques uns.
Dominique m’a recommandé de préparer la tarte bourdaloue, et il m’a demandé sur la carte où j’avais trouvé des poires en printemps (car elles sont plutôt des fruits d’automne). Il a raison, mais dans les supermarchés amérilocs, il est possible d’en trouver presque tout à n’importe quel temps (for better or for worse). Je vais la répeter en automne quand les poires seront meilleures.
Heard Museum (Arizona)
This card was sent by my friend Marina who is interning in Arizona at a distribution center. She took some time for herself to visit the Heard Museum, which she writes is “a must visit place.” I think I’ll wait until the weather cools a bit; at the time of its sending, it was 118F/48C! The heat is not for me, that’s for sure! But this card’s beautiful art absolutely is!
This piece is called “The White House of Canyon de Chelly,” and acrylic painting done by Sylvester Wilson, a Navajo painter at the age of 17 in 2008!
Transamerica Building (California)
I absolutely love this art-style, especially when it features such an iconic building as the Transamerica Pyramid! The San Francisco Reddit will feature, every once in a while, a discussion about getting to the top of the pyramid. Sometimes, service workers will post their photos from the last time they serviced the shining light at the top. It’s very alluring!
This postcard was sent by our best friends Katelyn and Matt to wish us a happy anniversary! It was very thoughtful of them to send a card, especially such a beautiful one!
Nashville, Indiana
This postcard comes from my longtime penpal and former classmate Nozomi in Indiana. I believe this is the twentieth Indianan postcard I’ve received from her. She writes that this Nashville is sometimes called “Little Nashville” so it’s not confused with the capital of Tennessee. I love it!
assurément humain (France)
Voici la cinquantième carte postale de mon ami Dominique, qui m’a aidé à comprendre la dernière carte postale qu’il m’a envoyée. Celle-ci je comprend très bien. Il écrit sur la dernière que les soignants se concentrent sur les minutes qui comptent entre la vie et la mort, et pas les heures incéssantes dont ils travaillent pour nous sauver la vie. Maintenant, je comprends! Merci merci!
San Francisco skyline (California)
This absolutely beautiful postcard isn’t done any justice through the scan. It has delicate gold detailing, for one. But it’s sent by our good friends M and P who are inviting us to see them in person after over a year of video calls. We have so much to catch up on, and this terrific postcard is a great reminder of the many reasons I love living in San Francisco.
illustrated Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)
Mejdulene and Katie sure know how to pick them! This terrific illustration of Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love - comes courtesy of a fantastic couple who took an impromptu road trip to Philly for the weekend. I can’t decide whether I was more pleased to receive this cute postcard or to learn that they ate their “faces off.” That’s how you do a roadtrip!
Aloha from Hawai’i
Many times, the scan doesn’t do justice to the physical postcard, and this is certainly one of those times. Tristan has sent us a beautiful, wooden postcard with a gorgeous image printed on it. When I write “wooden,” I mean it though. This isn’t printed on wood veneer, but rather a block of wood at least 1/4 inch thick (maybe 1/2 centimeter) with a beautiful finished edge! What a fun postcard to receive!
Love Lebanon (UK)
This postcard arrived from Amar in the UK, an artist who has created a series of postcards that my friend Mejdulene told me about. The postcard series features Palestinian-inspired designs and 100% of the profits will be donated to the Palestinian Children’s Fund. The shipping was very reasonable and arrived quite quickly!
Petäjävesi Old Church (Finland)
Another terrific postcard from my Finnish friend who is on vacation “up north” with his family. I wasn’t sure about the history of this place, so I looked it up: imagine a wooden building from 1765 still standing and in such great shape (especially after falling into disuse for about 50 years)! It’s older than my country in fact!