Postcards on Postcards

Two postcards sent by Bryon (the USA).

Stationery Girl

Collage on envelope sent by Laura (the UK).

Wise Words (III): Answer the Letter

«Sec. 3. How to go on with a Letter
[...]

My second Rule is, don't fill more than a page and a half with apologies for not having written sooner!

The best subject, to begin with, is your friend's last letter. Write with the letter open before you. Answer his questions, and make any remarks his letter suggests. Then go on to what you want to say yourself.»

Lewis Carrol, Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing

Sunday Stamps | G Is for Gender Violence

Every year, Correos (the Spanish postal service) issues a stamp dedicated to Civic Values -a set of behaviours that is considered positive for the development of society. The theme in 2020 was No to Gender Based Violence.

This is my G-stamp for this round of A-Z Sunday Stamps (dedicated to women in Mail Adventures).

Good People Meet

Last month, I received this postcard through the Postcrossing site. It had traveled from China for 72 days! There were nice stamps on the back, but no explanation. The message was simply "Happy Postcrossing", wihthout names.

After registering it, I looked at the sender's profile and saw that the same postcard had been sent several times:

I felt curious about the picture. An online translator told me that the words on top mean something like "Good People Meet" (It looks like a good slogan for Postcrossing, doesn't it?). After further researching, I found out that this kind of images are made in Yunnan by Bai people, using old wood engraving techniques.

You can read more here and here, for instance I do not know how accurate the information is, but the pictures are wonderful!

Postcrossing & Bowling

Heleen (the Netherlands) sent me this postcard last year. And a couple of weeks ago, I received the followint one from her:

I did not know that the combination bowling & Postcrossing was so popular! 

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Famous Women

Rosalyn Yallow (1821-2011)
Medical Physicist

Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, 1879
By Edgar Degas

Postcards sent by Phillip (the USA) and Laura (the UK).

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
September theme: LEARNING

• Week 1 - Legends, Children's Stories
• Week 2 - Famous People
• Week 3 - National Parks
• Week 4 - History (Could Be Historical Buildings)

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Mail Day

Envelope on a collage sent by Laura (UK).

Fishing Season in My Mailbox (and III)

Fishing season continues in my mailbox, with stamps, postcards and pictorial postmarks!

Sent by Phillip (the USA).

Wise Words (II): Write Legibly

«Sec. 3. How to go on with a Letter

[...]

Here is a golden Rule to begin with. Write legibly.»

Lewis Carrol, Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing

Sunday Stamps | F is for Feminist

Simonne Monet-Chartrand (1919 – 1993) was a Canadian labor activist, feminist writer, and pacifist.

The stamp were issued in 2023, along with two more stamps featuring Léa Roback and Madeleine Parent. All three women were born in Montréal and were lifelong advocates for women’s and workers’ rights and other causes. You can read more about them in the Canada Post online magazine.

This is my F entry for the A-Z Sunday Stamps.

250 Years of US Postal Service (1,2)

In 2025, the United States celebrates a milestone: 250 years of postal service. This collection of postcards have been released one a month. All 12 align to form a timeline spanning from 1775 to 2025.

1.

This postcard commemorates the establishment of the United States Post Office by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 26, 1775, and highlights Benjamin Franklin's appointment as the first Postmaster General. Received 25 March 2025

2.

This postcard commemorates the first issuance of postage stamps by the U.S. Post Office in 1847, marking the beginning of prepaid postage in the United States.

Two stamps were introduced:

• A 5-cent stamp featuring Benjamin Franklin for letters weighing less than 1/2 ounce and traveling up to 300 miles.
• A 10-cent stamp depicting George Washington for deliveries to locations greater than 300 miles or for letters twice the weight of those covered by the 5-cent stamp.

Postcards sent by Bryon (the USA).

What If You Do Not Have Any Tape or Envelopes...

... but you desperately need to send a letter from a small island?

Thursday Postcard Hunt | NYC

I received this postcard through the Postcrossing site. On it, a wonderful little artist tells her story. She drew the whole family and the house they live in. I absolutely love the taxi!

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
September theme: LEARNING

• Week 1 - Legends, Children's Stories
• Week 2 - Famous People
• Week 3 - National Parks
• Week 4 - History (Could Be Historical Buildings)

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Special Letters from Portugal

Stamps and postmark about Art déco, issued on 25 August and arrived only four days later.

Stamps commemorative of Dom Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal. He made himself a knight on his own account in the Cathedral of Zamora (nowadays, Spain) in 1125. Some years later, in 1143, the Treaty of Zamora recognised Portugal as an independent kingdom.

The envelope bears a special postmark from Zamora.

Both envelopes sent by Pedro (Portugal).

Not a Bad Mail Month, After All

(August update of my 2025 postal project: counting the days I get mail.)

Wise Words (I): That Way Madness Lies

«Sec. 2. How to begin a Letter.

If the Letter is to be in answer to another, begin by getting out that other letter and reading it through, in order to refresh your memory [...]

Next, Address and Stamp the Envelope. "What! Before writing the Letter?" Most certainly. And I'll tell you what will happen if you don't. You will go on writing till the last moment, and just in the middle of the last sentence, you will become aware that 'time's up!' Then comes the hurried wind-up — the wildly-scrawled signature — the hastily-fastened envelope, which comes open in the post — the address, a mere hieroglyphic — the horrible discovery that you've forgotten to replenish your Stamp-Case — the frantic appeal, to every one in the house, to lend you a Stamp — the headlong rush to the Post Office, arriving, hot and gasping, just after the box has closed — and finally, a week afterwards, the return of the Letter, from the Dead-Letter Office, marked "address illegible"!

Next, put the date in full. It is another aggravating thing, when you wish, years afterwards, to arrange a series of letters, to find them dated "Feb. 17", "Aug. 2", without any year to guide you as to which comes first. And never, never, dear Madam (N.B. this remark is addressed to ladies only: no man would ever do such a thing), put "Wednesday", simply, as the date!

"That way madness lies."»


Lewis Carrol, Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing

Sunday Stamps | E Is for Equality of Opportunities

Although I do not understand the text, I found out that these 2012 Turkish stamps are dedicated to Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. The illustration is supposed to represent the world on the shoulders of men and women.

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I am showing women related stamps for this new A-Z round in Sunday Stamps. Go there to see more E-stamps!

Sunset

Postcard sent by Ximo (Croatia).

Outgoing Summer Mail: Beach

Sent to Germany, Malaysia, PC, USA and UK.

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Illustrated Fruits

Postcards with botanical illustrations sent from Germany and the USA through the Postcrossing site. I just love citrus!

Let me add more non-illustrated oranges that I have recently got from Florida:

But one can live only on oranges (especially in the summer!). So... What about these mirabelles sent by Fabienne (France)? It seems that the mirabelles from Lorraine are especially good!

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
August theme: ILLUSTRATIONS

• Week 1 - Maps
• Week 2 - Art
• Week 3 - Animals
• Week 4 - Food (or Plants)

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Outgoing Summer Mail: Sun

Sent to Pedro (Portugal).

Outgoing Summer Mail: Paper Fans

Sent to France, the Netherlands and the USA.

Outgoing Summer Mail: Citrus

Sent to Canada, France, Russia, the UK and the USA.

Sunday Stamps | D Is for Duchess

Rachel Meghan Markle (born 1981) is an American member of the British royal family, media personality, entrepreneur, and former actress. She is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III.

She became a princess of the United Kingdom upon her marriage to Prince Harry, entitled to the style of Royal Highness. After her marriage, she was styled "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex", being the first person to hold this title.

See more D-stamps on today's Sunday Stamps.

Summer Mail - XIII

Holidaymakers in Thanet (UK)... some years ago.

Postcard sent by Laura (UK).

Summer Mail - XII

Two bright yellow stamps feature closeups of SpongeBob’s face wearing goofy smiles. A third stamp showcases a host of Bikini Bottom characters including Sandy Cheeks, Patrick Star, Plankton, Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, Gary, and Squidward Tentacles. The fourth stamp shows SpongeBob and Patrick frolicking on the sandy ocean floor. The selvage design is in blue with a Tiki-style flower pattern.

Created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants quickly became a success following its official debut on July 17, 1999. 

(More)

Thanks, Bryon! 

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Fly

No 46 "Night and Day"
Kristen Etmund

Ornament
A. Zakharchenko

Sent by Rosemary (Canada) and Eduard (Russia). 

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
August theme: ILLUSTRATIONS

• Week 1 - Maps
• Week 2 - Art
• Week 3 - Animals
• Week 4 - Food (or Plants)

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Summer Mail - XI

 

Collages on envelopes sent by Laura (the UK).

20 Years of Postcrossing (2)

Among the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Postcrossing, it was also this special postmark that I have received thanks to Bryon (the USA).

It is on the back of this postcard. At first sight... I thought it was the same one!

Summer Mail - X

Front and back of a refreshing letter sent by Fabienne (France), made out of a page of a magazine.

Sunday Stamps | C Is for Country Singers

The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Alvin Pleasant "A.P." Carter and his wife, Sara, joined with sister-in-law Maybelle to perform a repertoire of original tunes and traditional folk songs laced with a strong gospel emphasis. Some of their signature numbers included Wildwood Flower and I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes.

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For the new edition of Sunday Stamps A to Z, I have decided to show some of the stamps I have got on letters and postcards, related to one topic: women. This is the post for the letter C.

Postbox Saturday | Formentera

Two sunny post boxes on the island of Formentera. Pictures taken at the beginning of June.

Sant Francesc de Formentera

La Savina