r/postcrossing

DC area folks, I somehow never knew about the annual art & book fair at the State Department, but I found out yesterday and went for the first time today! It's also going on next weekend for half price. (I'm not affiliated, just sharing info.)

There is a "stamp room" that also has a postcard section, and postcards are 35 cents each unless otherwise priced (I only saw a few with individual prices). I'll post some of my haul here: vintage and newer postcards from all around the world, some fun ad cards, and a number of Christmas maxicards!

I'm not really a stamp person, so I didn't look through the stamps, but many people seemed to find stuff they liked.

If you plan to go, take note:

- There is security and you need an ID to enter.

- You have to check all bags, so don't do what I did and bring extra tote bags! I would suggest just bringing wallet, keys, phone.

- Prepare to wait. There is a line to get in, a line to get out of the stamp room (count your stamps/postcards while you are waiting) and then a line to pay. The line to pay is shorter if you bring cash!

They also have books and items from around the world. Here is the website: https://www.aafsw.org/artandbookfair/

Happy hunting!

I am visiting Japan, and I am so excited for all the postcards and letters that I'm planning on sending from here. I went to Ginza Itoya today and then straight to the big post office at Tokyo Station to pick up stamps. They are so pretty they give me little snail mail goosebumps! I hope my two WPD pulls love their cards and stamps!

Does anyone here collect stamped meet-up cards? I have 6 from the WPD meet-up in Houston TX. I would be happy to send one and add to your collection!

I spent the entire weekend writing these postcards and I'm finally done! Will be sending them this week since SingPost is doing a special postmark for World Post Day on the 8th!

I found a pack of these older Idaho postcards at the antique store for a few cents. Inexpensive and pretty! All antique shops have a light funky smell around the building, so I didn't think much of it at the time.

When I took the postcards home, I discovered that they smelled more than I had originally thought... I'm used to vintage paper smell, especially in this hobby, but these postcards were obviously stored in a location with prolonged cigarette smoke. I wouldn't want my Postcrossing recipients to be upset if I sent it to them.

Does anyone have any tips on how to deodorize old cards without damaging them? When it comes to cigarette smoke specifically, should I cut my loss and throw them away? For reference, you can smell it when your face is a few inches to a foot away from the card.

Some really fun stamps on a pretty vintage reproduction Halloween card! I could barely fit them all on there.

I love it when postcards work out … one Postcrosser likes sea animals (a shark for you!) and another loves the pink/red color (a beautiful sunset for you!) and amazingly enough, one loves aerial photos (I had one for you!). Enjoy, Deutschland!