Mondays I will be talking about postcard swaps, showing cards for swap, and some recent deliveries from the past week :) I started swapping a few years back, and have enjoyed it off and on since then. One of the wonderful things about swapping postcards is to connect with different folks from all over the world, and to have a little piece of the region, culture, and history in hand. It's almost like going to the museum, but through the mail. I've made some intriguing friends along the way too, which has really been the greatest treasure.
People who collect postcards often desire certain themes, but share a wide range of differing styles of cards. I have several that I enjoy: bridges (famous, wooden, stone...anything with a "bridge" big or small, new tech or old world...), Oriental theme (spanning all of "Asia"), windmills (particular Dutch windmills from around Netherlands or surrounding countries with Flemish heritage), and I have recently jumped on the map-card wagon. Many swappers also have a love for stamps and postmarking, or develop an interest in them from swapping postcards. I've never really cared for collecting stamps, but I do enjoy the varied beauty of the different stamps and postmarks that come with my postcards! A friend of mine,
Ria, is a swapper, a collector, and has also written a book about the history of the postal service, about collecting stamps, cards, markings, and even autographs! It is available from
2 Moon Press, on Amazon & Barnes & Nobles. I haven't read the book, yet, I am eagerly awaiting my autographed copy right from the author herself, but it is sure to be full of intriguing insights and stories into the world of collecting through the mail.
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| I collect bridges... |
There are many different ways to start collecting: one exciting way is to join a place online like
Postcrossing. There you can set up a profile and you will be placed into an automated system by which you will receive up to five (to start) random names from random regions all over the world to send your cards to, and your profile will be in the system to have a card sent to you. The unique way that Postcrossing works is that when your card is received, there is a special code unique to your profile that the receiver will enter online, which gives you a credit to have more cards coming your way, and to eventually allow you to send more cards out at a time, over time. Another way would be to do a search on Facebook, for example, for postcard collecting groups, and you can start asking folks for swaps. The draw back on postcard swapping is sharing your personal information (address and Facebook friend adds) with complete strangers...I've not had any problems with anyone in that regard, but some people create a new Facebook account for this purpose, or even use a P.O. Box as an extra measure.
I have a page on Facebook where i invite people to share with me, post their cards for trades, or links for trading, and to try and find and ask for new swapping friends and experiences:
Gregory's Postcardpalooza!
Here are some cards I have to offer for trade: some I may only have 1 copy of, or as few as 2 or 3, and others I have multiples for. I have over a hundred of these Star Wars comic-book cover postcards, but only one copy of each design...I have a lot of my cards on display on my Facebook page for viewing...
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| LOCAL HISTORY CARDS: THE ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CANAL (I&M CANAL) |
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| SEVERAL DIFFERENT SEASCAPE CARDS |
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STAR WARS COMIC BOOK COVER CARDS
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MICHIGAN QUILT/MAP CARD
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