I was thrown into the deep end, back in the day. But 10 binders full of postcards, for $100, was too interesting to pass up!
And so I immersed myself in the hundreds of floral birthday cards, and the handful of Ireland scenic cards for St. Patrick’s Day, and the occasional Washington’s Birthday card, or Valentine. And the I fell in love with this guy:
I discovered that he had brothers:
and cousins!
And so for about 6 or 7 years, I collected post cards…
Fast forward to 2005 – we moved to Ireland, and before we left, I sold off my collection. I hadn’t had a lot of time to do anything much with it, and it seemed reasonable to not pay to move heavy binders! The revenue was handy when we were moving…
So you can imagine how I found it peculiar that I woke up a few days ago, and realized that I had been dreaming about antique postcards!
My first instinct was SO poor…
“Okay, I’m not buying clothes this year, so why don’t I start buying cards again?”
WAIT! Stop! What am I thinking? If I was happy selling the collection 14 years ago, why would I conclude, on the basis of a DREAM, that I needed to start buying cards again to start a new collection?
So I tried a technique that I used on Noom. (yes, the weight-loss site…) I started asking why. And then why, again and again, until I got to a real answer.
Did I really want plastic binders, with plastic pages in them, holding these postcards?
Did I want to go through the bidding/buying process, waiting for things to arrive in the mail?
Did I want all of that packaging for each postcard filling up my garbage every day? (yes, I’m becoming more and more aware of how much garbage I carry out of here every few days…)
And the answer was… finally… that it was the images that appeal to me. Not the physical products.
AND THE IMAGES CAN EXIST PERFECTLY WELL ON MY COMPUTER, WITHOUT NARY A BINDER IN SIGHT!!!!
Now, I have a file of these images on my computer, and I’ve set it up to be my computer screen saver. I see these handsome Santa Claus images a few times a day. No plastic stuff, no money spent, no packaging materials cluttering up our home.
And WHAT does this have to do with The Vivienne Files?
The stopping and thinking part, before something is purchased.
Why must it be bought? Can it be borrowed? Rented? Done without? Is it just something for which a picture would be sufficient?
I had to share…
love,
Janice
p.s. Yes, the images on the cards themselves is superior to the image on my computer screen, but not sufficiently nicer that it’s worth the purchase, for me. Your mileage may vary…
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Most of my childhood picture books were given away years ago. But I now have a Pinterest board with pictures of all of them that I can remember. It takes up much less space than the actual books would!
Great post! For some time now I always double/triple check with myself if I really need a purchase. And so true that alot of visual things can be seen on our computers or the internet. Lise
Brilliant post! I love the addition of “why” to the decision making strategy (for shopping and perhaps chocolate as well). In October, I went through a massive clean out of my clothing. All the pieces sparked joy for me, but they didn’t spark joy while I was wearing them:) I have bought a few new pieces since October, but they have been very purposeful, deliberate purchases. I am really slowing down with “things” and the addition of “why” will be tremendously helpful. I really enjoyed hearing about your thought process. Now, if I could only substitute carrots for chocolate that easily.
“Didn’t spark joy while I was wearing them” BRILLIANT!!
Credit to Marie Kondo for that term, it’s her mantra.
Yes. Plus, unless you’re actually going to frame and hang them…what’s the point? Why keep the beautiful images that make you happy in a book or box away in a cabinet or a drawer? Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards,
Milissa
Brilliant, useful and so well said! Ah….and now we know why you want to retire to Ireland. You already have history there.
Ok, I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. I have a very small collection (only 13) of antique postcards, mostly seasonal holidays. I display each in a photo frame during the holiday. Is there anything better than an Ellen Clapsaddle Halloween card?! Just a thought. Then you can experience the incredible art in person even if it’s just in a small dose.
Thirteen is hardly a collection (LOL). The thing is, Jan (from one who’s been there) the Collector Mindset clicks in and whatever one has is never enough.
What an interesting post. It reminds me of how a similar light bulb went off in my head a couple of years ago. I live in an area that only has warm weather about 3-4 months a year. Yet I overbought summer clothes. WAY overbought. I would get so excited walking into stores and seeing all the wonderful, happy clothes for the summer. Then it struck me…it wasn’t the clothes, it was the COLORS.
So I started an instagram account where I can follow beautiful colorful pictures and flamboyant sartorial Instagramers. It makes me so happy. I can also walk through the stores now and have so much joy from the colors without having to possess the actual garments ( which I would never wear ). It really is so wonderful.
I had a similar realization about winter clothes! There just isn’t much winter here and I love the saturated colors. My fix was to buy lightweight clothes in my fall/winter colors and switch them into my wardrobe in August. Then I can enjoy those colors all fall, even though it’s still over 90 most days through October. It’s worked really well so far!
Janice, I recognize this mindset because I have it, and wanted to change. Many of us have been inculcated as children in the educational or curatorial aspects of collecting: stamps, butterflies, coins, Barbies. That’s not all bad… but as an adult concerned about consumption, it no longer serves me. My standard is,
Will I •actively live• with all of this? (Not in a box or in storage, really make it part of everyday life.)
Like you, I have photographed things and let them go. I’ve seen too many friends try to dispose of their parents’ collections and unless they are truly valuable, not just treasured by Mom, no one wants it.
So, while I appreciated the words of wisdom and the approach, am I the only one who got to the end of the post and was still waiting for the capsule(s) you would make from the postcards? Like, how the blue or the deep mulberry-ish colour would fit with the green and red…..
As for the purchase control, unless something grabs me very hard AND I know exactly how I would use it and/or which gap it would fill, I try to walk away and do my other shopping or browsing. If it’s still calling to me by the end, or the next day, I will double check the usefulness and then go back and look again. Quite often, I either find it looks less appealing on second viewing or I forget abot it altogether.
I, too, was expecting to see a wardrobe by the end! Why not take one or two seasonal postcards to make a small capsule?
Or…. buy a large print or poster of the image and hang it in your house!
Or…. on a scarf! Ha!
Such a timely post, for me, as we are downsizing to a smaller home, after 37 years. Touché for your questioning and re-questioning your motives, and thank you for the encouragement and role modeling.
My husband has a large collection of antique postcards from France all circa 1910-1912 – he collected them while he was living there.
We use our local printer to have them made into Christmas cards, Valentine’s cards, Easter cards, etc. and have had some framed for a lovely and interesting “gallery wall”. People love receiving them (yes, I am still a fan of “real” mail; I don’t enjoy getting emailed greetings). I love the images, (idyllic for sure), reading the greetings on the back of them and thinking about what life was really like at that time, just before the Great War. They are small and easy to keep so I think they will probably live with us all our days. But no, we’re not buying any more! Thanks for sharing your images – they’re lovely – and good idea to enjoy them on the computer and not have to have them in real life. As my husband says to me when I am thinking about what to get rid of “You don’t have to own the thing to enjoy the thing”.
Those are lovely, I’d love to see a wardrobe inspired by that first card. That’s alot of my closet, black, white, gray with red and green!
This post really makes me smile. I have a similar collection of Thanksgiving postcards that…20 years ago?…I loved for their nostalgic images of times gone by. I put them all in little frames and scattered them around the living and dining room for the holiday. They haven’t been out of the attic in…five years? And, I have rebelled at the whole “turkey uncertainty” anguish I get every year and switched over to filet roast! No need for all those turkey images any longer. Thanks for the nudge to pass those postcards on.
Such good questions . . . Why, why, and why. It’s useful to think hard about what’s really going on when we shop, collect, browse. Creating that useful pause and reflecting.
In business, we call that technique “The Five Whys”. Like a child would, keep asking questions until you get to the root of the issue — it’s rarely the first answer!
I have postcards that were written to my grandmother’s sister, she lived with her.
Many are from 1901-1930s. There are in huge binders. They lived on my coffee table at a couple of our houses, but being a military family and moving alot the binders didn’t always get unpacked. Now that I’m in my 50s. I no longer wish to have them. I do love stationary but never thought to ask a printer to reprint them for personal use as someone else mentioned above.
Any ideas of how to sell them to collectors? Do I dare try to remove the 1ct stamps on them for stamp collectors? Janice is there such a group of postcard collectors that I can contact– much like a quilter’s guild? Just thought I would ask since you mentioned your sold your collection years ago. I have holiday ones and some from the SF World’s Fair.
I haven’t collected postcards, but have kept all of the cards sent to me….well, I will say that I (a now-retired librarian) bought a few of libraries and even found one of Chief Oshkosh (WI) on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, 20 minutes from where we now live. When we moved to our retirement home I gave most of my books to the local Friends of the Library group. I’m now in a book group and, on principle, will not buy any books. If the library can’t get it for me in time, I will go to the discussion to listen. I wasn’t conscious of asking “why” but I guess that is what I did. Now that I’m sewing again, I do need to ask “why” more often. Thanks for a thoughtful post.
I have a small suggestion. If you have images of these cards saved on your computer, you could buy a digital photo frame and upload the images to this. Then you could set it to scroll slowly through all of your images – place the frame on your mantelpiece or side table at Christmas – et voila!
Postcards would also work, if you scan them into a computer first. I used to use a photo frame like this in my school library years ago to publicise book covers to the students.
what a great idea! we love our digital photo frame for the obvious use (family members, including grandbaby, far away) but a seasonal display would be so fun! – nancyo
I’d love to see a capsule collection based on those colors — black, white, red and green. It would be colorful and versatile if most of the basics were black and white with accessories in red and green. It won’t look Christmasy unless the red and green are worn together.
Adorable!
I really needed this today, as I’ve been thinking about spring and my wardrobe. Fashion bloggers are constantly throwing new clothes at us, and I like to see how they style them. But they don’t keep all of those clothes! Much of what they wear gets sent back. I can’t possibly compete, and I shouldn’t try.
What I really need, and I’m working towards, is a curated wardrobe (I hate the term capsule; it sounds rigid and confining to me). I want a carefully chosen wardrobe with items that bring me joy – and I want a healthy savings account!
Thanks for a very thoughtful post.
I would actually love a capsule with Christmas colors! It comes around every year, and working it into the black basics is always fun. But I would save it for next Christmas, when we are in the mood and working our wardrobe for Christmas events. I have solid reds, and one solid forest green that I work in with a fabulous holly scarf from long ago and far away. I may have …a couple of retro Christmas broaches from my mom…and the wonderful holly leaf one you showed from the Met Museum shop. Easily stored accents …
I also loved the take a picture solution to collection. I actually do that in a store, and wait a week to see if it still appeals to me. Usually I can pass it up or check my closet and find something similar.
Great post
Loved the wisdom
Loved the pictures