Ramblings of a Deltiologist

I have several Japanese postcards in my collection, but my Japanese collection is still somewhat small. I have selected Japanese postcards which either tell us a bit more about how postcards were used in the early twentieth century or raise an eyebrow or two! I will explain... The use of the first postcard to confirm attendance to a social function (written at work!) and the second to request some forgotten belongings shows not only that postcards were used to send short day-to-day messages, but also that the postcards available for this purpose showed international images. The next two are interesting because of their content...   I particularly like the way this postcard begins: " I was surprised to have a nasty letter from you... " - oh, to have that letter! ...and the sauciest correspondence I have: Dear old saucy  How are you getting on after your funny mood. You know what I mean at Yarmouth. On naughty naughty... I am sure the pos...

At £18 this is the most expensive postcard I have bought to date, but what a postcard this is for a mountaineering postcard / photograph collector. This postcard is actually less interesting than it appears on inspection, and more interesting historically than it appears. I will explain, but first a little bit of history... The 1924 Everest expedition is one of the most important events in mountaineering history and one of the biggest mysteries yet to be solved. In 1924 a team of climbers from the UK attempted to climb Everest in leather boots and woolen clothes with primitive oxygen tanks strapped to their backs. George Mallory and Sandy Irvine both perished during the attempt and Mallory's body was only recently discovered in 1999. This is where the mystery begins as nobody knows if they perished on the ascent or the descent. Were they the first people on Everest? Interestingly, a team of US climbers is off to the Himalayas this December to try to locate the body of Sandy Irv...