Postcards from strangers

by Sean McLachlan on

One of the coolest things about having lots of friends who travel is getting postcards from around the world. Sadly, letter and postcard writing don’t seem to be as common as they used to be. Much of the stuff coming through the mailbox these days is either bills or junk mail. Going to the mailbox has gotten to be a drag.

An organization called Postcrossing is trying to change that. This free group allows members to trade cards with strangers. You log in and request to send a card, and someone’s address is sent to you, along with a unique country-coded number. You pick a card, write a nice message with the code included, and pop it in the mail. Once the recipient gets the card and registers it on the site by using the number, you’re put next in line to get a card from a different stranger. There’s also a forum where people can arrange “private swaps” for particular countries or images.

With more than 100,000 members in 196 countries, the idea is catching on. I’m a member, as is former Gadling blogger Abha Malpani. Earlier this year Postcrossing reached the milestone of two million postcards received and one active member has racked up a thousand just by himself.

Various Postcrossers have created interesting spinoff blogs about their obsession, such as Wild Postcards and A Postcard a Day. Warning: Wild Postcards is occasionally not work safe, as the blogger likes old pin-up cards. Nude women with mom hair. Yipe!

Postcrossing is a great way to get cards from around the world and set up trading exchanges with people you may never meet. Consider it a form of staycation. It’s fun for kids too. My three-year-old son is learning a lot about the world. He specifically wants postcards of cars and trains and about half the cards I get are meant for him!

The postcard goes 3-D

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Even with all the technical developments like email, Skype and Twitter that help travelers stay in touch, the urge to send postcards never seems to go away. There’s something strangely thrilling about sending and receiving one of these decidedly analog pieces of cardboard by snail mail. The physical sense it has traveled vast distances across strange lands to reach you at the mailbox outside your front door.

It’s unlikely then that the postcard is going away any time soon. Instead, it seems to be evolving in form. The fine craftsmen at Wurlington Brothers Press are taking the stodgy old postcard to the next level with their “Build Your Own” series. Much like their 2-D brethren, Build Your Own cards begin as flat pieces of cardstock, featuring famous landmarks from New York and Chicago. But each card also features an added bonus, allowing the recipient to construct a miniature 3-D model of the structure using instructions.

The postcard is already a particulary sensory experience, a tiny remant of the sights of faraway places. Perhaps now the old postcard can add one more trick to its book, adding a sense of space, size and scale to a particularly low-tech medium. Now if we could only get that next email to show up in 3-D as well…

[Via PSFK]

Synagogue postcards exhibit to see at home

by Jamie Rhein on

In an earlier post today, I highlighted a video where post cards were used to tell a bit about Iran’s history. Here’s another interesting use of postcards.

The Web site of the National Museum of Jewish History has a page dedicated to postcards of synagogues from across the U.S. The 61 postcards featured are of synagogues that have played an important role in the communities where they were built. In some cases, according to the description of the on-line exhibit, the buildings no longer exist, and the communities may have disappeared as well. In other cases, the synagogue may have been remodeled since the postcard was made. The exhibit moves through the states in alphabetical order.

One interesting detail is how many of the synagogues got their start when the community bought land for a cemetery. Also of note, is how the architecture of many of the buildings reflect Judaism’s connection to the Middle East.

The exhibit also points out how postcards have been an important way for travelers to stay connected to people back home. In the case of these postcards, synagogues were a popular subject for Jewish people who were looking to highlight an aspect of their journey.

The collection is wonderful. Personally, I love the soft, nostalgic tones of old postcards. This collection is an interesting addition to an American history lesson. The postcard featured here is of the Stone Avenue Temple in Tucson. Today it’s on the National Register of Historic Places and is where the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest is located. Keep reading to see what the building looks like today.

According to the Jewish Heritage Center’s Web site, the first synagogue in Tucson was constructed in 1910 by Jewish pioneers, but was relocated in 1949. The stained glass windows are close reproductions of the original. Click here for an inside view.

I found all this out by starting off with the postcard. Until a few minutes ago, I didn’t know that Tucson had a Jewish Heritage Center, or that Jewish pioneers settled there almost 100 years ago.

Think about all the buildings we pass by that we don’t know much about, or what it may have looked like when it was first built. Postcards are one way to chronicle the story.

Postcrossing: Turn Your Mailbox Into a Surprise Box

by Willy Volk on

Simple ideas are always brilliant, and the idea behind Postcrossing may be the most brilliant yet. Members of Postcrossing follow a simple process:

  1. Request an address from the website.
  2. Mail a postcard to the address.
  3. Wait to receive a postcard in return.
  4. Register the received postcard in the system. This makes you the next person whose address will be given out.

By participating, members can receive postcards from all over the world and transform their mailbox — which usually only sees boring old refinance requests and bills — into a little surprise box. The really proactive members scan or photograph the postcards and upload the images to Flickr. With over half a million postcards already sent, there are currently 30,000+ postcards in transit.

I just signed up! If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll receive a postcard sent from an underwater mailbox!

[Via Vagabondish]