I have a postcard of a goose in a pink armchair in my shop, with tea, a blanket, and bunny slippers waiting beside it. I can think of several reasons someone might want to keep that card. They might collect geese, enjoy Mari Kolorowa’s illustrations or simply feel that the goose has made excellent plans for the afternoon.
Places, animals, books, flowers, maps and favourite artists all give postcard collectors something to look for. What interests me is how personal those choices become. Two people can choose the same card for completely different reasons, and a subject that means nothing to one person can be the first thing another searches for.
Sometimes it really is all about the cats
A Postcrossing profile that mentions black cats gives me something quite specific to look for. There is a difference between liking cats in general and wanting another black cat for a collection, especially when you already have plenty of the others.
The style matters too. Someone who enjoys wildlife photography might want a fox in its actual woodland surroundings. Someone else might be delighted to find the fox sitting in an armchair. I enjoy illustrated animals doing things I recognise from my own life, but I can also appreciate why a collector would want accurate photographs or drawings of particular species.
That is why I like having different kinds of animal postcards in the shop. Cats, dogs, owls and geese are only the beginning. A particular breed, colour or setting can make the choice much more interesting than the broad category suggests.
Places you have a reason to remember
A postcard from a place you have visited comes with something already attached to it. A picture of a café might remind you of sheltering from the rain there. A view of a town square might bring back the afternoon you spent trying to find your hotel. The person looking through your album sees a building; you remember the rest of the day.
I also understand collecting places you would like to visit, or looking for different ways to show a country you know well. A photograph, a map and an illustrated street scene can give you three quite different versions of the same place.
My “Let’s visit” series takes an illustrated approach to countries. It is one option for someone who enjoys geographical themes but wants a different sort of picture alongside their photographic views.
And sometimes it is the building itself that catches your eye. Lighthouses, libraries, cottages and colourful doors can lead you across several countries without a travel itinerary ever entering the picture.
Books, postboxes and a place to spend the afternoon
Books are an easy theme for me to understand. I read a lot, and I’m always interested in illustrated bookshops, libraries and places where someone has managed to fit another bookshelf. When I choose book and reading postcards for the shop, those details matter to me.
In Mari’s The Fox’s Woodland Retreat, there is a bookshelf built into a tree beside the fox’s chair. That is exactly the sort of thing I want to look at more closely. I want to see what else the illustrator has put there and imagine spending a few hours in that spot.
Someone collecting foxes could choose the same postcard having noticed the animal first. I would probably still be inspecting the bookshelf.
Other everyday interests work in much the same way. If you enjoy gardening, you may keep noticing greenhouses and botanical illustrations. If you knit, the basket of yarn in a room might catch your attention. Tea, food, kitchens and cafés can all give a collection a direction that feels familiar.
I have a particular affection for mailboxes and postal scenes, too. A real postbox tells you something about a place, while an illustrated one can have flowers growing around it or a small queue of animals waiting to post their letters. Considering how much of this hobby involves looking forward to mail, I can understand wanting a few pictures of the process.
Following an illustrator or a familiar character
There is a point where you recognise an illustrator’s work before you read the name. You like how they draw faces, the colours they put together or the details they include in a room. After that, the subject can become less important because you want to see what they have drawn next.
Recurring characters add something else to that. With The Window Diaries with Marluki, I enjoy returning to the same cat and window while the scene changes. Marluki can be watching a storm or getting involved in travel planning. Once you know the character, a new illustration has something familiar to build on.
Goose on Tour combines that familiarity with places, including Paris, Oslo and Tokyo. You might choose a city that matters to you, or follow the goose through several destinations.
Seasonal sets have their own appeal. Four views through the year let you compare what changes, while a series of months gives you something to gather gradually. I can also see the pleasure in collecting Christmas illustrations all year: if you love the artwork, finding another favourite in June is still a good find.
The cards you actually want to keep
An unused postcard gives you the illustration exactly as you chose it. A written one adds someone’s handwriting, their choice of stamp and whatever they wanted to tell you that day. The same design can become a very different thing once it has travelled.
That matters when you’re deciding how to build a collection. Buying individual cards gives you control over the designs you add. Receiving postcards brings an element of surprise, including subjects you might never have picked yourself. If that side appeals to you, my Postcrossing starter guide explains how sending and receiving through the project works.
If I were trying to work out what to collect, I would begin with the cards I already wanted to keep. I’d look at what they had in common, including the less obvious things: the colours, the drawing style, a particular setting or a detail I kept going back to.
For me, that question is more interesting than trying to find the most popular collecting theme. What is it about this particular postcard that makes you want another look?
I’d love to hear what you collect, especially if your answer is much more specific than “cats” or “places”. Those are the details I would remember when choosing a postcard for you.
You might also enjoy:
- How to Start Sending Postcards Again After a Break
- How to Choose a Postcard for Postcrossing: A Calm Guide for Any Profile
- Postcrossing Starter Guide
- Everything for Postcrossing
- Postcard Collection
- Postcard message ideas
Helpful external resources
- Postcrossing – How it Works
- Postcrossing – Community
- Cardzilla – Place for exchanging real, physical postcards
