I read some old postcards today.
They were in a charity shop. There was a whole box full and many were written on and had stamps. They'd been posted in 1962 and over the years drifted into a charity shop.
I felt as though I was trespassing as I read short, ordinary but poignant lines. They were from from loved ones to friends and other loved ones whilst on holiday way back when in the sixties. Simple thoughts scribbled down in pen and sent through the mail into the future. Like time travellers.
I imagine collecting postcards can be quite addictive. I wonder if being 'used' and written on is more desirable to collectors than not?
Have you collected postcards readers? Any other ephemera?
Apparently few people now send postcards, so this is a piece of social history we are losing. I have a few with fascinating messages- one from a nurse working in Egypt during WW1. The more recent ones can also be interesting- what did people think of the holiday they were having, what did they do, etc.
ReplyDeleteFor me, an interesting message adds a good deal to the value of the card, I don't know how it affects its financial worth.
I agree Andy about how interesting they are. I hadn't thought about how they are now declining but it makes sense with social media ruling everything. The WW1 Nurse postcard sounds fascinating. There's a short guest article coming soon about similar postcards.
DeleteFor couple of decades I've collected old postcards, photo-postcards and photographs from the past, Woodsy. As Andy points out, they represent a snapshot of social history. For me the most poignant and emotive are examples from WW1.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interesting article Tone. I'll blog it soon.
DeleteCollecting postcards is huge among certain circles here in Finland, and there are many takers whenever someone offers a stash for sale at flea markets or antique fairs. As to my understanding the written & sent postcards are more valuable, and there is also the philatelic value to consider.
ReplyDeleteEven though not my branch, I have found myself collecting lenticular postcards of the Sixties & the Seventies, especially space-related ones. Relates also to my interest in 3D stereoscopy, View-Master reels et al.
Fascinating Arto. I hadn't considered the stamp on the cards. I like your own niche of lenticular cards, a really appealing gimmick for postcards and one which lent itself really well to space themes like you say. My fave one is the Saturn V roll-out. What's yours?
DeleteMany like the Saturn V roll-out are great Woodsy yet my favourite must be from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the one with Space Station V.
ReplyDeleteI bought a bag of old postcards and promotional photos at a car boot recently and prior to that, a set of glass 35mm slides of someones holiday photos. The slides were so evocative that they became the basis for my final dissertation piece at University and resulted in a portfolio of 30 poems which responded directly to the imagery. While i was in york last week, I picked up two glas magic lantern slides, one of the german isle of Opie (?) and one of the deck of a ship off the coast of Norway. Beautiful little things, like tiny portals into another age. I'm always put in mind of the scene in Blade Runner, where Deckard holds up rachels fauxto of her imagined childhood; and the image briefly springs to life, with the sun dappled porch opening a window into an alternate reality.
ReplyDeleteI almost bough myself a View-Master set at a car boot too, but had to resist! the lenticular cards sound good, very much the sort of thing that arrived in cereals and lucky bags. Ive got a small set of modern Star Wars lenticular cards.