J'aime les Cartes Postales - - Oh yes I do!

I have a thing about France. And postcards. And French postcards.

J'aime les Cartes Postals
I love the backs of them, the fronts of them, the vintage ones and the new ones....

The French really knew (know?) how to cancel stamps. There are often two, or even three, cancellations on each card.
(And, by the way, I could REALLY use some French mail artists to trade with if anyone in France is reading this).

And did I mention the handwriting?
The most beautiful cursive writing....

And they really know how to SQUEEZE a whole lot of cursive writing onto each little card...

Why don't we have lovely little paper bags made especially for postcards?

And look at this -- is it early mail art? Some little French kid drew on this card. Looks like a drawing of a kid riding a dog???

I also notice the hotels and tourist spots back in the day had had special stamps too....

I get endless pleasure out of my French postcards....besides admiring the postmarks and stamps and cancellations...I use them for art projects too. I found out you can get two ATC cards from each postcard. I love using them for ATC's and including some of the markings on the card into the ATC.

I spent all day last Sunday making Postal theme ATC's using French postcards as the starts...

So fun -- I got 25 ATC's -- and I'm still at it.
Want to see them all?
Let me know if you do.

Oui, it is kind of frightening, isn't it? But I work best with all my stuff out where I can see it...
I'll clean up...really I will...(someday).

I've always loved these rows of trees you see all over France...

Here's a photograph I took of French trees....same ones as the vintage postcard?

This is me in another life.
Oh yes it is!
I wonder I will come back as next time? Got to be something postal.
So, I hope you enjoyed the ode to postcards.
And, if you're going on vacation, I hope you will mail some postcards out and make some mailboxes happy.
Or, even if you are staying put, you can still pop a postcard in the mail and try to squeeze as much cursive writing on the back as those French people did...

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

A Week of Mail Going Out

Back in business -- the effects of the flu are long gone and I have been hitting the work table every day this week.
Really having fun with the process and getting lots of mail art sent out.
Can you tell?

The piles have been growing -- but all the better to tear, arrange and glue! Right?

An early batch of collaged postcards this week....I'm on a roll....a French roll....whatever that is...

OUTGOING to Mim
(I hope she already got this)
Vellum envelope with some vintage French inside!)
Bisous mon amie.

OUTGOING to Millicent
(Hope she already got this one too) A comic handmade envelope to cheer her up after two no-mail days. No mail -- no fun.

OUTGOING to the Fearless Mailer KSP
I got a bit carried away sticking stamps on that envelope and I may have put extra (ahem) postage..
Oh well...support the USPS, right?

OUTGOING
Some crabby envelopes....

OUTGOING
for my lovely friend SW who likes transit....

OUTGOING
More collaged photo cards going out...

OUTGOING
And the French....OhLaLa.....love that woman in the center. Saucy! 

OUTGOING
Since green is my favorite color, other than black and (more black) I had to make a St Patrick's day card edition....
and Guinness is Good For You....you knew that, right?

OUTGOING
Saint Pat's Edition of collaged/photo postcards...

OUTGOING
Top O the Morning to all of you and have fun on Sunday. Make some green mail.

OUTGOING
Passover collaged card.....for SB....

LOST AND FOUND MAIL
Now here is a story to warm a postal lovers heart. My pal in France sent me two envelopes, mailed on the same day. One came very quickly and the other (this one) seemed to be lost in transit.
It just showed up yesterday and it seems my friend did not put any HOUSE number in the address.
And my street is a very long city street.
But someone at the PO tracked me down and wrote in the house number and viola --
here's the envelope.
Isn't that cool?

I am sorry for all the bad things I said about the Postal Service while the envelope was missing.


Some great incoming mail arrived this week too but that is a story for another day.

Packing the mail art kit and will be sending postcards from the road.
Check the Cappuccino & Art FB page for updates

Happy Mails to you!
Write soon.
                                                                                                                                                               

The Secret Language of Stamps

Language du timbre

Recently I read a (wonderful) book called The Language of Flowers. A story about how people once communicated by giving each other flowers that had special and secret meanings.
That started me thinking about the Language of Stamps -- an upside-down stamp
on the corner of an envelope used to stand for "Love" a while back......

Le Langage du Timbre

Ohlala - then I came across this great old French postcard which explained the meanings of the placements of the stamps.
I have a lot of vintage French postcards and letters and I had often noticed stamps all over the place in odd angles...

Article from
Picture Postcard Monthly, August 1997 from the UK

I had picked up this free magazine at the vintage paper fair and leafing through it I came across this article by David Gerrard (no relation).
According to him. this stamp language craze was going strong in the USA and the UK as well as France and Germany.
Who knew?

YES -- I have often wondered why -- and now I am wondering why we mail artists
don't revive The Language of Stamps and get the whole secret message thing going again.
Who needs Facebook?

The stamp on these lovebirds card means - M'aimes-tu or
Do you love me?
Awwwww......(I don't know if the fact the stamp is half folded over to the other side of the card adds anything to the message).

This stamp placement means the same thing - maybe la fille sent this to her grand-mare?

Apparently these things were taken very seriously back in the day.....


The article says "In those days, the Post Office didn't mind whereabouts on the envelope or card you put the stamp, or in which direction it was facing......Popular magazines of the time educated their readers in the rules of clandestine messages by means of a simple postage stamp."


He continues "The secret language of stamps flourished from late Victorian times until well into the late 20th century.....some still dreaded finding a particular card in their mail. It would bear a stamp in its upper left-hand corner, placed cosily on its side but, for those who knew its meaning, it carried the unequivocal message"I hate you".
Gee.

LOVE

These stamps are all on envelopes from my mom --they may not be upside-down or sideways but the message is clear!

More Love.....

Stamps all over the place......

Soyons Heureux (Be Happy)

OK, now what is going on here? I'm afraid to ask.....
Je souffre de ton absence
(I suffer from your absence)
I was thinking maybe "Don't Ask, Don't tell" but what do I know?

Top postcard from Canada and bottom is from the Helvetia Republic (which, from what I understand only existed as a state for five years). Stamp placement means Ecris moi vite
Write Me Quickly! (hum.....)
Love the beautiful handwriting.

OK--there is goes--a secret message of stamps going in to the letter box.

Now, don't you think we need to set up a secret stamps language of mail artists?

I will await your comments!

Leave me a comment in the comment section and describe the placement of the stamps and your suggestion for the secret meaning....
I will do something fun with the answers -- maybe make a zine so we can all be on the same page.
Let's start a secret language of stamp movement!