National Postcard Week? Part of Postcard History - Part One

 I think this is really neat. I didn't know about this until this year. I participated in it for 2024. It was May 5th to 11th of 2024. 

National Postcard Week

I found out about it at the Postcard History site. I found out to participate in it. Once signed up for it, I send in that I wanted to participate in it. I received instructions on what to do and a list of people to send postcards to. 

The first step was to create a postcard. This involved designing one and getting it printed. I found that Avery has an online service - Avery Custom Printing; Postcards - that allows one to design a postcard and they would print it for you. One can design a postcard, upload a design then have them print it for you. They have a few shapes to chose from. The price varies depending on whether it is one sided or two sided and how many they print for you. I found the process to be quite easy.

I did one that was just on one side (bottom one above). I uploaded a map of Newburyport MA and added the 'Newburyport MA' part to the bottom. Since I used the single side postcard, the back was blank. Once I received it, I used a ruler and a pin to divide it into three parts (the back of it). One for the writing area where one puts a message, one for the return address and one for the address of the person being sent to. It wasn't big so the message was small (or one can write small and put it more). 

I did one that was two sided (top one above). I uploaded a map of Newburyport MA and filled the front of the postcard. Since I had the two sides to use, I put links on the back to information on Newburyport MA. I left space for the return address and the address to the person it was sent to. This did not leave space for a message but the links were the message. I wanted to use this to promote Newburyport MA where I live (I think it is a neat and historic little town). 

I added lines to the top one but not to the bottom one (added after I took this photo). Neither was very big but it had room enough for the addresses and a stamp. 

I received a list from them of the people to send them to. Most of the ones were in the USA with three being outside the USA. I waited to the week of the even to mail them out. There was about 80 on the list but I had printed 100 of the postcards. There were some leftover that I used to mail to friends and family (hoping that anyone who sees them would wonder about my town and look it up). 

This is not to say there are not other sites where one can have this done. It is just the one I chose to go with. I will check out the other sites and do posts on them; either as a group or individually. 

Some Links that I have found on it:

National Postcard Week - published May 2, 2021 (older one).

National Postcard Week - Wikipedia

National Postcard Week - Postcard History

National Postcard Week - Modern Postcard.

National Postcard Week - Facebook

National Postcard Week - Kovel's Antique Trader

National Postcard Week results using Duck Duck Go

    There were a lot of results. I am posting this link above instead of all that I found on it. 

This is part one. Part two will have photos of the postcards that I received. It will be mostly photos but just the front of them. I don't want to show the addresses on the back. If one participated in it, then one would already have the addresses since one would have gotten the file of those to send it to. 

TomLeeM

2024 / 05 / 30

TomLeeM at Café Press

(my online store doesn't seem to work but I am listing it just in case it starts working again).