Wish you were here

Dear reader,

It's summer and that means the On Paperettes have been busy with bridal season and helping our loyal, rain-drenched customers. (We had 19 straight days of rain in June.) A few of us have been able to get away from the soaking and head out on summer vacations. It’s not a competition, but the trip to Paris wins “most fabulous.” The trip to northern Wisconsin wins “most mosquito-y.”

When we take a break from the museums and canoeing, the Impressionists and the cheese plants, we might think about our nearest and dearest back home, and those wonderful people holding down the fort while we’re away. And, if we’re postally inclined, we might take a few minutes to send off a postcard.

The postcard has a relatively short history—just right for these little missives. While they were circulating in Europe a bit earlier, postcards began appearing in Stateside mailboxes in the late 1800s. Only those printed by the government were official “postcards.” All others were called “private mailing cards.” Doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?

It took an act by Congress in 1907 to allow a message to appear on the same side as the address. Before that, we’d have written our notes on the front. Thanks, Congress! After all, who’d want to sully one of these gems?

Bonus: if you collect these bits of art and correspondence, you can call yourself a deltiologist, and who doesn’t want to be an –ologist? If you’re looking to add to your collection, we have vintage-inspired Columbus and Ohio designs for sale in the shop, and you can peruse antique markets for the real McCoy, complete with scrawled musings on the sites and cuisine.

The postcard format is even used in wedding stationery. If you're drawn to the nostalgic design of a postcard for your save the date or reply card, we still recommend sending these important pieces in an envelope. Doing so protects them from dirt and other smudgery along the way. 

And, big news! We've been hard at work on beautiful new website. 
Be sure to come back soon!

Wish you were here, 
On Paper