Women on Postcards | R Is for Rouge

Postcard sent by Fabienne (France).

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Illustrated Places

Thursday Postcard Hunt is dedicated to Illustrations this week. Have not you noticed that lately, finding illustrated postcards when you travel is easier than finding traditional photos? Which ones do you prefer?

Qibao Old Street is located in Qibao Ancient Town, Minhang District, Shanghai. The entire street boasts a rich variety of local snacks and antique architecture. Qibao Ancient Town, like many other ancient towns in the Taihu Lake region of southern China, is a picturesque town within a city, and also the closest ancient town to downtown Shanghai. Qibao originated in the Later Han Dynasty, developed in the early Song Dynasty, and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, boasting a history of over 1000 years. As a historically important town known as Songdu, Qibao possesses a profound cultural heritage.

The Tudor Gatehouse. The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great (Smithfield, London). From the COVID lockdown sketchbook of Peter Delaney.

Stable Yard. Hatfield House (the UK).

Cass Art. Hamspead (London, UK). Illustrated by Nina Cosford.

Minster Church, Thanet (UK).

Ohio (USA).

Postcards sent by Yingzhen (China), Laura (the UK) and Heleen-Phillip (the Netherlands-USA).

Distance Is Not a Problem for a Letter

«Behin, amari gutun bat idazteko eskatu nion, eta idatzi zuen. Biak batera joan ginen Konakryko geltokira eta han beste norbaiti eman genion herrixkaraino eraman zezan. Ez dakit bizikletaz joan zen edo autobusean, baina badakit iritsi zela. Distantzia ez da arazoa gutun batentzat.»

Amets Arzallus Antia & Ibrahima Balde, Miñan

Are You Buying Letters?

A few years ago, when letter subscriptions started popping up here and there, I tried a couple out of curiosity. The first one never really got off the ground, for sad reasons. I received six letters from the second one, but I did not renew the subscription afterwards.

I cannot say the letters disappointed me (although the fact they did not choose better stamps was a bit of a letdown). I just discovered that buying letters is not my thing. Not because of the letters themselves, but because faking the connection is, quite simply, impossible. If buying things gives you any pleasure, it cannot compete with the experience of having something —however brief—sent specifically to you.

Before reading this blog post, perhaps because I do not use Instagram, I had not realised that letter subscriptions were so popular. And I had never thought they could turn into a sort of addiction!

What do you think? Have you tried these services? Would you do it?

Gartenzwerg

Little garden gnomes are a fun tradition in Germany. The classical ones remind us of medieval mine workers, and they are a symbol of hard work and reliability. 

Julia (Germany) sent this postcard trough the Postcrossing site. The stamp seems a place where the gnome could live...

Sunday Stamps | Sweet Canada

Butter tart and Nanaimo bar are Canadian traditional deserts. As stamps, they belong to the series Sweet Canada, issued in 2019. 

Go to Sunday Stamps to see more Food on stamps!

Postbox Saturday | Freshly Painted

Freshly painted. Do not touch

I know you were really eager to hear about the latest adventures of my mailbox. Well, this week it got a new outfit. Does not it look great?

Women on Postcards | M Is for Matryoshka

Сергиев Посад or Sergiyev Posad is the Orthodox capital of Russia and the birthplace of the matryoshka dolls during the 1890s, which have become one of the symbols of the country. Matryoshka is a diminutive form of Matryosha (Матрёша), in turn an affectionate form of the Russian female first name Matryona (Матрёна)

The postcard was sent by Eduard (Russia), and included on the back two matching stamps: more matryoshka dolls, and the coat of arms of the city. 

 

The shape of the postmark is very curious!

[Women on Postcards 2026]

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Water & Moon

The Water and Moon Guanyin Bodhisativa (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, USA). Received from China through the Postcrossing site.

Thursday Postcard Hunt is dedicated to Sculptures or statues this week. You are welcome to share your postcards!

There Is Nothing Better Than a Typewritten Letter

This is one of the typewriters I own, and the one I use more often for my letters (actually, this photo is taken from here and shows the same model and colour; mine is a bit more worn). It has been in use for over 60 years.

Olivetti Lettera 44

Typewriters have always fascinated me. I just love the sound of the keys and how they allow me to fous solely in writing. Today I came across (old) article about Ten Ways a Typewriter Will Improve Your Writing, with most of which I agree.

Do you use a typewriter? And, in any case, do you like receiving typewritten letters, or do you prefer handwritten ones?

Is Your Mailbox This Rusty?

Herberto Smith, from the exhibition Interferências. Culturas Urbanas Emergentes ('Interferences. Emerging Urban Cultures') in the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology), Lisboa.

Postcard sent by Pedro (Portugal).

Send It Anyway

«Sometimes we hesitate to write because we think we do not have enough to say. Write anyway. Sometimes we think a birthday card is too ordinary. Send it anyway. Sometimes we think a short note hardly counts as correspondence. It counts. The card you almost did not send might remain on someone’s nightstand for months. The note you wrote quickly at the kitchen table may become something someone reads several times.»

Renee Palting, "Writing Letters With My Mom"

Sunday Stamps | Birds in Motion

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is Birds.

Autumn Flowers

Autumn Flowers wallpaper by William Morris, 1888. Sent by Laura (the UK).

Women on Postcards | I Is for Illustrated Magazine

Postcard sent by Bryon (the USA). I like the mise en abyme technique.

[Women on Postcards - 2026]