You've got mail!

Just like the telephone, the Internet, and social networks today, at the beginning of the 20th century, the postcard represented a fast, accessible, easy-to-use, and effective means of communication, mitigating distance and separation.

Only two or three words, most of the time. Among the most frequent messages were 'hello' or 'fond memories of…' to say hi to parents and friends during a trip, a vacation, or the like.

The current weather, rain or shine, was a popular topic even then!

On most postcards, we find just a few hastily scribbled words, but many people used the small printed cards for ongoing correspondence between friends or family members. Like this person who indicates both in her correspondence and on the back of the photo the house where she will settle, the names of her future neighbors, and more.

During the Great War, thanks to the military mail system, the postcard was a free, simple, and popular means of sending news from the front. There was censorship, and the soldiers were not allowed to give information on the exact places they were posted, the number of dead, coming offensives, or troop morale.

But all the postcards that arrived to the families back home meant that their sons, husbands, and brothers were still alive.

Some lovers did not hesitate to declare their love for all to see, whether they were poets or not…

But others wrote coded messages or used shorthand to preserve the privacy of a message that would, by necessity, circulate exposed, or to bypass monitoring and inquisitive eyes.

Talkative people used every last blank space. Some overlaid texts and wrote in all directions, and others wrote their messages on several cards that they would number, leaving it up to the reader to sort out!

These correspondences from the past also helps us rediscover phrasing, fountain-pen handwriting, expressions and the language of the time.

In the 1900s, the French post office's regulations and pricing policy may have seemed incongruous: some formulas such as "Amitiés" (Regards), "Amicale poignée de main" (Friendly handshake), and "Bien à vous" (Warm regards) were allowed, while others, such as '"Ça va bien" (What's up), "Revenez vite" (Hurry back), or "Charmante journée" (Pleasant day) were taxed.

Messages shorter than or equal to five words also benefited from reduced postage. One extra little phrase and the postman would affix a tax stamp that the recipient had to pay. Postal workers therefore had to show their vigilance and verify that the rules were followed.

There were several mail pickups and distributions per day: two at minimum, and three in certain locations. The mail used the same transport as the people: the train! So postcards were used to make or cancel meetings, which might read, "I will arrive tomorrow at 11 o'clock…"

Of the millions of postcards that circulated in Brittany, a minority were printed in the Breton or Gallo languages. As for the messages on the reverse, rare too were those written in the Bretons' mother tongue.

To fight against and suppress regional variations, several successive laws were passed to forbid the Breton language in schools, administrative environments, and more. Even though at the start of the 20th century Breton was still the language of family, village, and religious life, more and more young Bretons were bilingual, and mail correspondence was conducted mainly in French.

In conclusion, the postcard was a very successful way to share news, regardless of how mail carriers got around at the time!

Today, in the face of competition from virtual cards and billions of telephone messages, pen-to-paper remains resilient. It still shows the caring intentions and attention of the sender for the recipient.