Is the postcard dead?
How many postcards did you receive this summer? We got one…a month after the senders had returned home! This made me wonder whether there’s still a place for the humble postcard?
When I was a child I loved looking through boxes of old cards saved by my grandparents. They had mostly been sent by my dad during scout camps, trips to the seaside and visits to relatives.
Each contained just a few words and best wishes to the recipients the at home. However, these captured moments of travel history were special and had been saved for future reference.
The earliest recorded picture postcard was sent in 1840. It was hand painted by London writer Theodore Hook and was probably a bit of a practical joke as it was an illustration of postal workers.
The first commercially available postcards were made in America in 1861 and had no picture, just a decorated border. It wasn’t until the 1870s that postcards started being sent as holiday souvenirs.
The ones I rummaged through as a child were black and white, tinted monochrome and colour photographs showing beaches lined with deck chairs, famous landmarks or tourist attractions. They fascinated me as both the pictures and words opened a door to a different time. I’ve always loved history!
I can’t remember the last time I sent a postcard to anyone. I’m much more likely to write about what I get up to on holiday on Twitter or Facebook with no individual recipient in mind. In one way it’s a lot less personal, but I’m able to upload my pictures, write more and share things regularly.
It’s immediate, I can see if people have ‘liked’ my posts and I can even tag certain friends and family if I really want them to see something. The wonders of the digital world!
Social media has definitely taken over from the postcard for me, but it will never have the same longevity. You see someone’s holiday snaps pop up in your timeline one day and they are gone the next. Postcards and the memories scrawled down on them can be looked at again and again. Or maybe they are just consigned to a box in the loft?
Hadn’t read your original blog post and comments before. I’m sure that the cost and reliability of fast postage has reduced the use of postcards and think the.effects of social media and email are resulting in a decline in people sending birthday and Christmas cards etc. I suspect that in due course these will also gradually fall out of favour.
That's a great idea and a wonderful momentoe of your travels. I might punch that idea!!
Yes! I'm going to start writing postcards with the Tot and Baby when they will appreciate it a bit more. I might start collecting a few in the meantime!
That's a nice idea. I really should look out for postcards more. Even if I just buy them for myself.
I know! I think the last time I sent one that's exactly what I did – I didn't really have any news to share but I wanted the card to get home before I did! 🙂
I never send postcards (well, maybe once in a blue moon). But I have a friend who collects them so I bring one for her every time I travel. I, too, collect them. They end up on a wall at home so they are now a giant collage art piece!
I'm terrible, I don't send them. But that said, I still have family who do and I love receiving them. I think social media is so instant, that the written card/note is becoming a thing of the past. Although I do write thank you notes all the time. Maybe I need to revive the tradition and get Monkey to help me. Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes
I used to send postcards to myself. But yeah, not sure since when I stopped doing it. Kind of sad now that I think about it. But I still send them when I come across events with special postcards / postmarks.
I actually did send some postcards this year! The one I sent to my husband arrived the day after I arrived back home! You practically have to send a postcard the first day of your trip in order for it to arrive while you are still wishing everyone "they were here." #MondayEscapes
That's fab. I think everyone loves getting something in the post. It is becoming so much rarer!
Ha! And if that's not a good enough reason to save the postcard I'm not sure what is! 😉
That's when I think we'll start doing postcards again. Until then I think we'll be sharing our adventures on Facebook!
Don't feel bad. You are not alone!! 🙂
What a good citizen you are! Up the postcard!! 🙂
I agree that it's still a nice thing to do with kids and I think when mine are old enough we will restart. That's assuming they are still around!
I love receiving cards but have to agree that the electronic alternatives seem to be taking over!
I used to buy loads of postcards as a kid for the same reason. I can understand why a pre-teen of today might think that. Who posts anything a part from birthday cards and things they've sold on ebay today!?
I remember those postcards. Did anyone ever put them in the post? They were too frilly! 🙂
I used to do the same when I was a kid. I loved cards with vintage adverts on them and used to buy them whenever we went to a National Trust property or a museum x
That's a great idea!
We didn't send any but my kids get them from their grandparents every time they go away and love getting them! Karen of Mini Travellers
My kids love postcards, so we sent some from the different places we visited in Europe. But with 3 kids all wanting to send postcards to their best friends, grandparents and school, it got a bit expensive! But an educational experience for them (and it kept them quiet for a couple of hours!). #MondayEscapes
What a great discussion – thanks for opening it up. I haven't sent a postcard in a few years. I very nearly bought one for my parents this year but decided against it but I am sure they would have appreciated it. I usually just buy the postcards without sending them and keep for souvenirs. It all feels a bit of a hassle…having to find a stamp and postbox then it usually arrives after you. I get the odd postcard but with social media I do think it's a dying pastime. Having said that when my daughter is old enough to write it would be a nice activity. #mondayescapes
Very interesting question – I have friends that send them to me, but I'll admit I just put photos on FB….bad me!
I used to love sending postcards as a child and even a young adult. Part of the fun was that they didn't get to the intended recipient until weeks later 🙂 Last year in Cornwall I found a postcard on the floor in St Ives which had been written and had a stamp on it, someone had dropped it, so I did a good deed and posted it.
I have seen lots of details about various postcard apps but it doesn't seem the same. That said I've got out of the habit but it would be good to get the kids to write them to grandparents as they're not on social media etc. Now Master ATWWAH is at school he can be the postcard writer 🙂 long live the postcard. Lets start a comeback.
I'm really sad about this – we were in Florida a year or two ago and looked everywhere for postcards. They just didn't seem to exist anymore but with small children it's a really nice thing to do as they are not going to put stuff on social media. However we now live in South Africa and can happily say postcards are still very easy to buy and we recently sent a couple to my children's old school in the UK. Still waiting to see if they ever arrived mind you 🙂
My husband still sends postcards to his parents. But I haven't sent one in years!! I think I got one this year from our cleaner when she went back to Poland for the summer. Yep, I'd say they were definitely on the way out. Especially since people just email messages back to their loved ones with photo attachments of their time on holiday.
A few days ago a friend of mine said that her 12yr old niece couldn't understand the concept of a postcard! To be honest I never sent one as I didn't find the point of doing so. I've bought postcards on very few occassions and mostly because I liked the photo and not with the purpose of posting them. #mondayescapes
I've heard of companies sending postcards for you, using your photographs. I think I was asked to review it and promptly forgot! It is a shame that they seem to have disappeared. My favourite postcards, which I bought for myself as a child, were from Spain where the flamenco dancers on the card had extra lace added to their skirts – I adored them.
I love a good postcard but not for writing I like the photos on them when traveling as sometimes the weather isnt perfect for capturing it yourself or to put in frames when we get home of the places we have just been. But writing them to family and friend possibly. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me blog hop. I hope you have enjoyed reading so many fab other blog posts and to see you again tomorrow for another great round of #sharewithme
I always send them to my nephews from wherever in the world i am. They love it! as they are only young (3, 6) they find it a novelty still.
i'm onboard with the campaign! i love getting them but don't really at all (i'm on the move to much!) lol
They do make great memories but like you I also like checking out the holiday snaps on Facebook 🙂
It's not quite the same but it's good that there's an option for the 'Facebook generation'.
I am tempted with that campaign idea. Since writing this we l've received another postcard. Someone is listening 🙂
That is a fun thing to do. You must have a great collection. Everywhere does postcards a little bit differently 🙂
I agree. Every postcard tells more of a story than you read in the words written in that small space on the back!
It is a shame. The art of writing by hand is being lost in general. That's a whole different blog post!
Ha! That's fantastic. I think we'll send a lot more when our girls are older. I also need to check out this app!
I sent one postcard this year and didn't receive any – it is a little sad that postcards aren't really sent very often anymore but I do quite like being able to see more photos from people's holidays through social media. I do have a box of old postcards though including various ones that I bought or received as a child and it is lovely to look back through them.
So sad but I think the answer is yes! Although I do love a postcard! Maybe you should start a campaign – #savethepostcard! #sharewithme
As it happens, I think the post card, indeed the thank you card, have been given a new lease of life thanks to technology. I used the TouchNote app which enables you to send a custom made card using a photo from your phone's library. It gives you that personal touch while also being very easy to use and cheap. Oh, and for the record, no, I am not a TouchNote salesperson! In truth though, until I discovered that app I hadn't sent a card in years so, ultimately, yes, I imagine it is in decline. #sharewithme
I haven't sent a written postcard for a long time, but I have bought them as mementos of trips and kept them for my travel scrapbooks so I do hope there's a long life left in them yet! #TwinklyTuesday
I hope there is still life for postcards, I love receiving them! Also my husband collects old postcards of our local area and it's lovely to look at the lovely handwriting and imagine the story behind the messages. #TwinklyTuesday
We send postcards to all of the boys friends back in the U.S. at each location we visit. My boys love picking out which ones to send. We always send one back to ourselves as well (Or just write it and hold on to it and I tuck it in the back of the photo book we make after the trip.) We've also used the app to send the postcards. Its particularly good when I'm having trouble finding a postcard. I've actually done a whole section on our blog with pictures of the postcards we have sent and plenty of people post them on instagram. I may love postcards a little too much! #TwinklyTuesday
We now give ours away and so few write them from here anymore, things are changing and I think it is a shame, hopefully they won't go completely. Cathy's app sounds interesting too #Twinklytuesday
That app sounds interesting. I can see more point when your postcards get home while you are still away. Or is the fact that they arrive ages later part of the charm?!
I sent a few recently with an app – using your own photos and sending from the UK so no faffing in foreign post offices. Everyone agreed there just isn't the same nostalgia but it's more practical – even 20 years ago they took forever or never arrived . I'm far more likely to use social media though.
This is such a lovely thing to do. The postcard we received was from my girls' grandparents. When my two are old enough to write down a few words I think we'll get back into postcard writing 🙂
We always send one to grandparents and great-grandma and the love getting them – especially as they are not on social media. In return they always send the children postcards which they equally love to receive. So I'm a big fan of keeping postcards alive!