Postcrossing Blog

When I saw Helen Baggott’s Posted in the Past recommended, I knew I had to give this one a shot and write a review for the blog. It took me a while to get round to it, but here we are at last!

Posted in the Past promises to “reveal the true stories written on a postcard”, and it turns out that this is mostly through tracing the people who wrote or received the postcard, and working out their genealogy. That means we get some hints about their lives, including their occupations and ages, but the author doesn’t really dig into the circumstances mentioned on the postcards, which sometimes seem pretty tantalising.

It makes sense that the focus is on just identifying who the people are, and tracing their families and potential descendants, because that’s a lot easier to research (comparatively speaking!) from census records and similar than trying to figure out what someone might’ve meant by a cryptic message on a postcard. With so little space, people don’t go in for a lot of filler, and often postcards are just a way to say hi from a distant place.

Still, genealogy isn’t really an interest of mine, so I wasn’t as hooked on this as I’d hoped to be. The idea of finding someone’s old postcard in a shop and figuring out who they were seems attractive, but when it’s done this way it gets pretty repetitive, and it’s hard to feel a sense of getting to know people from the kind of sparse details you get from census records and parish records.

That said, this probably is one that people interested in genealogy would appreciate, and I learned something about the whole process, so I did enjoy that aspect! And I especially enjoyed when Baggott found links between different postcards, showing they were sent by people who knew each other (even when found separately).

Not a winner for me, but maybe for you! On to pastures new for me—I have a couple of books lined up to read sometime soon that discuss the post or aspects of the mail, but I’m always looking for recommendations for books themed around mail, postcards and postal services. You can drop them in this forum thread to make sure I see them! (You may need to browse a bit on the forum first, to open up this section, but that shouldn’t take long.)

Rebecca (zincirli) from Toronto (Canada) has been a member of Postcrossing for a while, and when we heard about her hobby of collecting pictorial cancellation marks, we thought that sounded cool and like a great topic for our blog! So without any further ado, here’s our latest spotlight, so that she can tell us about it in her own words!

How did you get started sending postcards? What is your earliest memory of them?

I’ve always enjoyed getting mail, but I didn’t really get into sending a postcards frequently until I started traveling in my early 20s.

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

One of my former bosses actually heard about Postcrossing on a podcast, thought of me and shared the website, and I signed up immediately! I’ve been obsessed ever since. I think what really got me hooked was I’d say the artform of Postcrossing. Finding the right postcard, choosing stamps, decorating it to match (if possible) what people’s interests are, it’s such a great creative outlet.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or collections? Tell us about pictorial cancellations!

I love to collect stickers and washi tape, and I have quite a few house plants too! But what I’m really into collecting right now is pictorial cancels. I saw them on the Canada Post website in early 2024 and had been curious. I then noticed this post on the forum, and went to visit Toronto’s First Post Office to get their pictorial cancel in person! The staff were so wonderful it inspired me to mail my first cancel requests, and I’ve been hooked ever since. If there’s a pictorial cancel that I think someone in my life would like I’ll also get a postcard sent to them with the cancel, it’s a lot of fun. I’ve collected over 100 so far!

I’m also a collaborator for Canada’s Pictorial Cancels, where we’re collecting them to record measurements and get the run dates for the pictorial cancels. Some of my favourite pictorial cancels I’ve collected so far are: Bamfield (British Columbia), Christmas Island (Nova Scotia) and Bath (New Brunswick). I even have a spreadsheet to keep track of everything 🤓

I’ve also received a few pictorial cancels from other countries, check out these two from Portugal and Taiwan for WPD!!

Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing or start collections of their own?

A few people in my life have signed up for Postcrossing after seeing the postcards (and joy from them) I’ve received! My house now has two postcrossers as my boyfriend signed up as well, we write cards together and enjoy going shopping for postcards.

Is there anything else that you are passionate about?

I love history, especially ancient history, and local history! Small town museums are my favourite. I think it’s important to learn as much as we can about the areas around us and the history behind it all.

Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?

I received a card from Tunisia in 2023 (TN-8389)! My first card from Africa at the time. I sent a card to Réunion last year too (CA-1530232), I was impressed with how quickly it arrived!

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

So difficult to really narrow it down but there are three that stick out to me. The first (US-9381560), is from BabyLand (USA), home of the Cabbage Patch Kids. It’s such a wild card but I love it!! Then from Bretagne in France (FR-1686819), has a super neat cut out in the postcard which I think makes it super unique!! And lastly is from Germany (DE-14066134), because I absolutely love the art style and expressions on the buildings.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

This is my local street mailbox! I always try to drop off my cards on my lunch so they can be picked up the same day.

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

February already! I hope 2026 has been treating people well, and that you have all been getting some really fun mail. Not many postcards so far for me, but plenty of books, so I’m happy…

Anyway, looking at my calendar, it turns out that Pancake Day (as we call it in the UK—also known as Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, etc) is in February, and that brought this prompt to mind for reasons that will become clear fairly quickly: what dishes are you great at cooking?!

Okay. Confession time it is: I can’t really cook. When fending for myself, I usually put pre-made things in the oven, like a pie or pizza or something. However, the one thing I taught myself from a student cookbook has fairly reliably been a hit, when I actually achieve it: pancakes! Specifically the thin type, as in this photo I found (not my pancakes, alas), which can be rolled up and eaten with a filling. (Nutella, how I love you! Though I also like maple syrup or lemon and sugar with them.)

I don’t have a special recipe or anything like that, so I have to conclude that part of the great reception is actually surprise that I’ve actually bestirred myself and made something from scratch… and the pancakes my dad and my wife make are both better, in my humble opinion. Still, it’s proof that possibly with the guidance of a cookbook and a quiet kitchen, maybe I’m not unteachable!

Alright, now it’s your turn! What are your go-to meals, your signature dishes? Feel free to share the recipes and make us all feel hungry. You can let us know in the comments here, and use this as a prompt when writing postcards this month!

February is a busy month in the mail calendar, and so it’s time for your yearly heads-up to make sure you have time to prepare!

We love a good mail challenge around here, and since February is the Month of Letters, it is time to dust off all that special stationery and put pen to paper! It’s the perfect opportunity for reconnecting with family and friends, sending a Valentine card to your special someone, saying thank you to the helpful people in your life… or simply surprising strangers across the world with postcards! 😉

The rules of the Month of Letters challenge are simple:

• Mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture or a cutting from a newspaper… anything goes!
• Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

That’s it! The challenge started back in 2012, after American writer Mary Robinette Kowal decided it was time for a break from the internet. She spent a month offline, and asked her friends to communicate with her through letters. The results were relaxing and intimate, so she decided to invite others to join, sparking a yearly flurry of correspondence.
If you’re planning to join this year, you’re welcome to share your progress with other participants on this forum topic.

Another happy mail-related event coming up is Mail Carrier Appreciation Day, which happens every year on February 4th. This is the day to celebrate our trusty mail carriers, who make it possible for this hobby to exist by delivering all our postcards!

The date falls on a Wednesday this year, so be sure to prepare something nice for your mail carrier the day before — for instance, pour your gratitude into a thank you note that you’ll deliver (or affix to your mailbox) for them to discover on their rounds. I’m sure it’ll be the highlight of their day week!

If you can, take a photo of what you did to celebrate this special day, and share a link to it in the comments! 😊

In 2026, the port city of Keelung in northern Taiwan celebrates an incredible milestone: 400 years of history shaped by the sea and by connections with the world. This milestone highlights Keelung’s long-standing role as a port city with deep historical and global ties. To mark the anniversary, the YM Oceanic Culture & Art Museum (in Keelung), together with the Egret Cultural & Educational Foundation, is organizing a special mail art exhibition — and they’re inviting postcrossers everywhere to be part of it! 💙

So here’s the invitation: send a postcard to Keelung with your blessings for its 400th anniversary! Your message (and your creativity) will join hundreds of others, bringing voices from around the world together in one place.

The project is called “Keelung Trade Wind—KEELUNG 400 Mail Art”. The main exhibition about this special anniversary runs from February 3 to May 3, 2026, and postcards sent by Postcrossing members between January and April 30 will later be displayed at the museum from July to December 31, 2026 (after approval by the museum).

What should you send? Anything that feels meaningful and celebratory: a handwritten message, a postcard photo from your hometown, a small illustration, a bit of creative mail art… it’s all welcome.

The museum kindly asks that you begin your postcard like a little letter addressed to them. For example:

Dear YM Oceanic Culture & Art Museum,
Congratulations on Keelung’s 400th anniversary…

After that, it’s up to you. You can send a wish for Keelung, share a greeting from your corner of the world, or write a message about what postcards (and connections!) mean to you. And since this celebration is so closely tied to the sea and to Keelung’s history as a port city, you can also take inspiration from that: write about the ocean, ships, coastlines, lighthouses, sea winds, or the idea of trade routes and journeys. If your own town has a connection to the sea — a harbor, a river, fishing traditions, maritime industries, or stories of people coming and going — feel free to mention it too. It’s a lovely way to connect Keelung’s story with your own.

To help the museum identify your card as part of this collaboration, please add “Postcrossing”, your Postcrossing username, and your country somewhere on the card. And because these postcards will be publicly displayed (and later digitized so we can share the outcome of the project with the community), we recommend keeping your message postcard-style and avoiding personal contact details like email, phone number, address, etc.

Ready to join in? Here is the mailing address:

YM Oceanic Culture & Art Museum
(KEELUNG 400 Mail Art Exhibition)
No. 4, Gangxi St.,
Ren’ai Dist., Keelung City 200002
Taiwan (R.O.C.)

And if you happen to be in Taiwan (or planning a trip there!), you can also visit the museum throughout 2026 and see this celebration in person. From February 3 to December 31, 2026, Postcrossers can enjoy a special ticket price of NT$100 by showing either your Postcrossing profile page on your phone (logged in, with your username visible), or a postcard with a Postcrossing ID written on it at the 1F service counter. Keelung residents (with valid ID) receive free admission.

A small note for planning: the museum is scheduled to close temporarily for exhibition changeover during May–June 2026 (exact dates will be announced by the museum).

We love this kind of collaboration — postcards as tiny ambassadors, travelling across borders to become part of a shared celebration. If you decide to send one, we hope you’ll have fun with it… and we’d love to hear about it too. Happy 400th anniversary, Keelung! 🌊

PS: More information about the museum (including opening times and transportation options) can be checked here or on the Museum’s Facebook page.