Postcard Shows

Whaaaaaat?!~ There are Postcard Shows!?

While writing a card to a forum member for an AD Tag, I found an AD Card advertising ‘Seattle’s Own Postcard Show’ in 1997. I Googled it…THEY STILL HAVE THEM!

Are there any other locations that regularly have Postcard Shows? I kinda need to go to them all!

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The two I know of in the U.S. are held annually, one in York, Pennsylvania, and one in Deland, Florida. I think there may be an annual one in Texas as well. I have some older ad cards for the York show, and I hosted a face-to-face meetup at that one a few years back (pre-pandemic). I’d be happy to send you an event card and the ad cards (there cards in total) as a swap for anything you have that meets the interests in my profile. Send me your address in a personal message and I’ll get them out to you.

Check this link: https://www.marylmartin.com/events/

I suspect you are kinda going to need to do a lot of traveling!

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OH. MY. LANTA!

I may live in the middle of Bum F*** and You Got a Purdy Mouth, but there’s one upside. I’m situated perfectly between Phily, Baltimore, DC, and NYC. The York show is only 1.5 hours from me and the Dulles show only 2.5 hours.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Come on, COVID, clean up your act so I can go to a show!

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I’m sure I once saw a meet-up in New York that was going to be at a show, and when googling ‘postcard show’, the top suggestion was ‘calendar’. Looks like there are plenty of them!

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When I started Postcrossing, I needed more postcards and there was a postcard show about 20 minutes away from where I lived in Littleton, Colorado and it was held twice a year. Then I moved… sad about moving away from a cool thing I could attend. I haven’t looked for where I live now as to if they have any Postcard Shows, perhaps in St. Louis. Here is one card that I plan on keeping that I got from the show in Colorado, a Disney card from 1966:

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There were a large number of postcard shows all across the US. I say “were” because that is not the case any more due to Covid-19.

If they ever resume, there are a couple of things to bear in mind. First, about 97% of the material offered at these shows is of Vintage postcards. Very few if any dealers will have modern postcards. Those rare ones that do, I spend hours going through the $0.25 boxes with joy and anticipation. The other thing is that most of these shows are one-day affairs. A key exception is the Garden State Postcard Club show here in NJ. Always a two-day affair in September or October.

I would agree with this. Here in San Francisco, there’s the quarterly Vintage Paper Fair and monthly San Francisco Bay Area Postcard Club, but the folks there are primarily vintage postcard focused. To be honest, I feel quite out of place there because I’m under 50 and not Caucasian. The demographics, to say the least, aren’t particularly diverse.

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In Houston, there was one that was held Friday through Sunday last October. I had only joined postcrossing a couple of weeks prior, and there was a meet-up in conjunction with the postcard fair. I wanted to go, but there was a terminal sickness in the family, and I just couldn’t make it. Could someone explain to me what a newbie should expect at a meet-up, just in case they repeat this coming fall? I really want to attend. If I am in the wrong place to ask that question, please show me the way to go elsewhere.

I would suggest contacting the host of the meet-up you’re planning on visiting and ask what activities they are planning since it may vary from meet-up to meet-up. I’ve only been to the ones in California and mostly they involve socializing, writing and signing postcards, swapping postcards, and postcard games. If it’s an in person meet-up, you should bring, at the very least, pens for writing and some postcards you would like to swap or give away. Some hosts may even suggest bringing part of your collection if you feel comfortable showing it to others.

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Just went to the Houston postcard show this past weekend. It’s always great and the vendors are super friendly and knowledgeable. Yes most are vintage cards but several of the dealers have the 25 -50 cent boxes like an above user mentioned. You can spend hours looking through some cool cards and not even realize all the time that goes by.

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When you say vintage, do you just mean old or are they already written?

I believe that vintage in America at least means older cards; they may be blank or written. There’s a souvenir shop in our area that sells some cards I think some would call vintage, even though they are being sold as new!

Yes! And don’t rule out stamp bourses. Postcard demand there is less, and a few dealers will have cheap cards around (or under the table that they haven’t brought out b/c they didn’t think they could sell).

Hi

There are many shows in the US all over the country. If I am attending a show I usually plan a meetup during the show hours. I usually make a special postcard for the event as do others who plan a meetup. The special postcard is signed by all those who attend.

A variety of topics are discussed: where to purchase postcards, when you joined Postcrossing, what you like to collect, from where did you get your most recent postcard, how many can you have in the mail at one time and many others.

Due to the pandemic most shows have been cancelled. I am hopeful that by this fall they will resume. I personally attend shows in Dallas, Houston and Austin Texas; Wichita, Kansas, Phoenix, Arizona, York, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia. I have in the past attended a meetup in Deland, Florida. For more show information check out Marylmartin.com and courthousesquare.net for US shows. Many postcard clubs in the US have a yearly show.

I hope that when shows resume, I will be able to plan a meetup at those shows I will be attending.

I know there are postcard show in England and France, but don’t where they are located.

Happy National Postcard Week,
Demaris

Dang! I just looked them up and missed the show by 2 days! There’s always next month.

WESTERN RESERVE POSTCARD SOCIETY
Postcard Show - April 29 & 30, 2022
Rocky River Memorial Hall
21012 Hilliard Blvd
Rocky River, OH 44116

Show Hours:
Friday, April 29, 2022 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday, April 30, 2022 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Two room of dealers. $3 entrance fee.

Slightly off topic but comic conventions and art shows are also good places to pick up newer, unused postcards.

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Yes, artists have postcards, but they are usually pricey.

I’m going to try and make that Arcadia Show!

The website for courthouse was already mentioned but here is the link to some upcoming postcard shows in the central US.

2022-2023 Shows