HISTORYinPOSTCARDS

Karel Hujer saw his homeland break free of the shackles of the Habsburg monarchy only to be swallowed by the Third Reich a mere 20 years later. Discover his poignantly personal account of WWII as he pleads the case for Czechoslovakia over US radio waves. amazon.com/dp/B0CQR5S2YZ/

In our latest update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. Following the Tama River's tributaries, we venture deeper into Okutama and learn more about the history behind local names. And we have new RSS feeds! Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20260322/

@stampden My go: T. M**thy. Murphy would be pushing it, but it could be Murthy (Indian origin). Or, filling in just a single letter, Mathy.

Can anyone help? Here is the signature on the free frank cover quoted below. I'd love to know who sent this cover in 1825. AI has tried and failed. For every suggestion it's made I've found a corresponding signature that proves it wrong! 😂 #philately

In our latest update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. We continue our stroll through Okutama, crossing the storied Mitake Bridge and taking a funicular up Mount Mitake, activities you can enjoy to this day! 🚠 Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20260306/

A lot of people are talking about the recently released ndlocr-lite and I have to concur it is impressive. Even at a relatively low resolution, it does not get tripped by the 新縁納涼 typo I posted recently. Of course, one should still not blindly copy&paste (り>6, repeat of 奇).

奇岩怪石磊塊 ... Way to take the emphasis as far as you can, dear postcard publisher. There had better be some really cool rocks there! 🪨🪨🪨 Language is such a wonderful thing.

In case you were wondering, it was indeed possible to mail "f) live bees in wooden boxes as samples" in Austria-Hungary (excerpt from an 1899 booklet). And to save you an embarrassing mistake when doing so: live bees are, of course, categorized as letter post, not parcel post!

You might have noticed I am prone to using "author's we" when writing updates for HISTORYinPOSTCARDS. I have been forced to do so my entire professional career, and it is a difficult habit to shake. Hopefully it is not too distracting. I could sure use another pair of hands.👐

I have been following this for a long time, hoping for any new developments. This year, maybe? Please, pretty please! 🙏🥺 eajs.eu/%E5%9B%BD%E7%A…

300 dpi is about what the human eye can resolve from a distance of 30 cm. Could you spot the 綠>緣 typo in the postcard label below? I don't think 300 dpi contains enough information to do so. My brain automatically corrects it to 新綠納涼. A 600 dpi scan included for comparison.

@ahab20220905 Thank you for the kind words and your continued support.🙏Some people say I should just throw the postcards into an LLM and publish hundreds. I find that rather disheartening, to say the least. But then I remind myself those people would never read the website in the first place.

@HISTinPOST I personally hope you’ll continue your current style and pace. Your posts and website have become an invaluable archive of prewar Japanese postcards. The depth of your research makes each post a rich source of historical facts. I always learn something new from you.

To anyone who visits HISTORYinPOSTCARDS on occasion, would you prefer to see more postcards added each week, or should I keep pursuing more detailed write-ups?

I wonder whether adjusting the rigor to shift the balance toward quantity would be desirable.

To keep the project sustainable, I devote the same number of hours to it each week instead of publishing a set number of postcards. But with background tasks and differences between postcards, this leads to considerable variation in the latter.

In our latest update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. The publisher Tōkyō Shashinkōgeisha (東京寫眞工藝社) takes us on a trip to Okutama, where we shed our preconceived notions about Tōkyō's landscape. Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20260222/

@stampden It is always a pleasure to read your work. Thank you for sharing the results of your research and all the insights. I truly think making such content available raises the profile of social philately. 🙏

Thanks to everyone who 'liked' my latest article; it’s genuinely the best reward I could ask for. Each piece is a major effort of research (the upcoming March edition already has 50 references) and will always be free. It's all about promoting postal history and social #philately

I just finished refactoring the code behind HISTORYinPOSTCARDS. It had to be done sooner or later, and I am happy with the result, which should translate to a smoother browsing experience. Let me know If you notice any rough edges. Anyway, new postcards are coming next week!

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan (+ a new default font, Atkinson Hyperlegible Next!). Our stroll through Shionoe Onsen ends with a visit to Hanaya, an inn whose fortunes fell victim to the war effort. Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20260125/

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. Extending our stay at Shionoe Onsen, we admire its bridges and the 1929 train station that welcomed 200000 guests a year until it fell victim to the war effort. Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20260118/

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. We take the "Match Box" to the Shionoe Onsen and visit three beautiful waterfalls in its vicinity. You can also now see the fronts of Karel Hujer's postcards at once! Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20260111/

As our exposition featuring prewar Japan grows, some of the more filled-in areas on the map, such as Enoshima, are starting to make for a fun time-travel guidebook. If you find yourself in Japan, give it a try and let yourself be transported 100 years into the past!