150 Years of Postcards

There's a certain coolness starting to creep in the weather around here. It makes me start to think of Autumn, even before Labor Day. We all know that October is always the best month. This year, October is made even greater as it marks the 150th anniversary of the postcard. Our compatriots of Postcrossing, who are definitely VIP (Very Into Postcards), have a website dedicated to celebrating this milestone. 

Ana from Postcrossing says:

It all started back in 1869 in Austria-Hungary, when Professor of Economics Dr. Emanuel Herrmann wrote an article on the Neue Freie Presse suggesting “a novel means of postal correspondence”. Despite the resistance at the time (“Wouldn’t the servants and the postman read the messages?!”), the Austrian Post decided to take a risk and give the novel idea of a “postcard” a try. The very first postcard was issued on October 1st 1869, a humble brown rectangle with space for the address on the front, and a short message on the back.

 

Fast forward to 150 years later, and postcards are still around, surprising and bringing joy to everyone that finds one hiding in their mailbox!  To celebrate 150 years of history and connection, events are being organized all around the world which include local gatherings of postcard enthusiasts, museum exhibitions, stamp launches and library events. 

 

Postcrossing is also organizing a global call-for-postcards, in which anyone can participate! All you need to do is to write a few words about what postcards mean to you. What's your earliest or fondest memory related to postcards?  What do you feel when you open your mailbox and there’s one there waiting for you?

 

Pour your feelings into a postcard and send it to:

150 Years of Postcards
Postcrossing — PO box 216 
EC Tavira
8800–999 TAVIRA
PORTUGAL

 

A selection of the received postcards will be showcased on an exhibition in October at the Universal Postal Union headquarters in Switzerland, and there are prizes for the best submissions (include your email address for a chance to win).

 

Join us in sharing our love for postcards with the whole world!"

For more about it, check out the Postcrossing blog, and you can check the page with more details here.

Comments

[Joe F.]

How neat! I was sort of looking for a letter-writing challenge, and now I know what I'm doing every day of October. =)