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Name: Krištof Kranjc
Country, place: Slovenia, Postojna
Age: 31
How have your adventures with
collecting postcards started?
Collecting all things was a deep-rooted passion in me since my
earliest childhood. I always collected anything I got at least 2
examples of the same thing. But later (age 8) I moved into stamp
collecting – it was interesting, but I was always frustrated by the
fact that the number of different stamps is limited and that one (in
theory, at least) can have all stamps – basically the end of
collecting. It is true that each year new are produced, but
nevertheless... My father was also collecting stamps, but he had
also a collection of older postcards (from 1950−1980) from his youth
which I found interesting to look through. And whenever we (as a
family) got postcard from friends and relatives, we would not throw
it away, but keep it in this "primordial" collection. It was not
serious collecting at all, but still there were around 5000
postcards in this collection. Some were arranged in envelopes
according to countries and regions, whereas some where just kept
mixed in shoe-boxes. So, when I was around 12, I decided to make
some order in this collection. And so it all started...
In what way do you increase your
collection? Do you only buy postcards and receive them from your
friends or family? Or maybe you have your own special ways to get
them?
The largest number of postcards in my collection is those that I
have personally bought on my travels. A great number of postcards
are also those that I ask some relatives or friends (that I know
that are travelling somewhere) to buy for me there. In these cases I
give them money in advance or after they come back, as we arrange.
Then there are people that had some postcards somewhere and were not
sure what to do with them (either they don't have space or they are
not interested in keeping them) – but did not want to throw them
away. If I know such people or their friends, this is a great
opportunity to get a nice number of interesting postcards (these are
normally somewhat older, but in most cases still in good condition).
The third way is via internet shops. Some postcard-publishers or
other companies have some postcards ready for selling. I am not
using this option very frequently, but nevertheless I tried it some
times and it worked well. And the last way which brings the smallest
number of postcards into my collection is via trading (exchanging)
with other postcard collectors. However, the postcards received in
this way are in many cases the most interesting ones and often
represent the countries from where it would otherwise be very
difficult to obtain postcards.
What kind of postcards you are
interested in and what kind you don't accept and why?
Generally speaking I am interested in all postcards termed "scenic
postcards". Basically these are all cities, towns, villages,
churches, temples, monasteries, mosques, palaces, museums, castles,
fortresses, landscapes, fields, mountains, lakes, caves, mines,
glaciers, coasts, islands, beaches, lighthouses, bridges, windmills
etc. But this means that artwork (designed specially for the
postcard), humour, (famous) people, recipes and similar are
excluded. Basically I accept any postcard that can be geographically
located. So if a postcard of an elephant has at its back (or front,
doesn't matter) an explanation that this is, let say Kruger National
Park in South Africa, such a postcard is good for my collection.
Also, if this is an elephant from a ZOO in Paris, this is good. But
if this is just an elephant, without any explanation, without the
country it is coming from, such a postcard is not good for my
collection. A similar criterion is used for other subjects as well.
For artwork, for example: if on the postcard is a reproduction of a
certain painting (or sculpture) and there is written on the back (or
front) that this is inside this or that museum in London, such a
postcard is good. If this is just an artwork, without any location,
then it is not suitable for my collection. And another type of
postcards that I don't accept are extremely large postcards (longer
than 21 cm) and some that are of very unusual sizes and shapes.
Otherwise, I don't mind if they are somewhat strange. I also collect
postcards that are in a size of (small) booklets and similar.
How big is your collection?
I am slowly approaching 100.000 postcards, but this will take a year
or so. I put in pencil a number onto each postcard that comes into
my collection, so that I know the exact number of postcards in it
(and also when and from whom I have got it).
How do you store your postcards?
My postcards are stored in two separate locations due to the size of
the collection. One part is still stored in (old) shoe boxes,
whereas a part of the collection is already in wooden drawers made
especially for the postcards. These drawers are 21 cm across and 1 m
deep, so in each of them there can be around 2000 postcards.
What postcard was the hardest to
get?
It is a tough question. The first one that comes into my mind was
Moldova. This was the last country in Europe without any postcard at
all. And I think I was waiting for around 12 years to get one by
exchange from a collector in northern Germany. Then, of course,
there are many postcards in my collection that required an hour or
so searching in different towns and villages, asking in grocery
shops, looking for post-offices, waiting for information offices to
open etc. All these were difficult to get, but this is part of the
thrill. Coming into a village I don't have any postcards from and
looking around, is there any possible place that might be selling
postcards? Have they produced postcard(s) at all?
What postcard is the most valuable
for you? (It can be sentimental value or material value)
I cannot answer to this question. There are many postcards that have
each its own special meaning and memories associated with it – so
they have special value for me. But it is impossible to say which is
more valuable. In the term of material value, I am sure the oldest
part of my collection (some postcards are from the last decade of
the 18th century) is the most valuable. But also some new postcards
can be quite expensive – in Finland last year, for example, I bought
some postcards that had the price of 2.20 Euro!
Is there any interesting story
behind getting specific postcard or postcards? I'm thinking here
about some funny situations or very complicated ones.
There were many examples in villages or towns where it was
impossible to get postcards and the suggestions of helpful locals
are always quite wide-ranging – from ideas of visiting tourist
offices, railway stations, community halls and administrative
buildings to churches and museums (if there are any)... In some
countries it is also worth visiting receptions of up-scale hotels
(preferably in castles or similar). All these I have done. Now it
springs to my mind an encounter in Ioannina (Greece) – on the
lakeshore there was a small tourist pavilion that had sticked some
postcards on its windows. I asked if it is possible to by some of
these, but they said that it is not possible and that I have to go
to Hotel Xenia. Next day I went there and it turned out that there
was an official tourism administration office in the basement of
this hotel. There I explained my wishes and they said that yes, they
had produced a huge set of postcards but that it is not possible to
buy them. That they just give them for free on some tourist fairs
etc. However, I was very lucky and they were willing to give some to
me as well. Another funny memory is of a small town called Tularosa
(in New Mexico) – the only shop that looked as they might be selling
postcards didn't have any, but they offered me a coffee-mug with the
town's photo. However, I declined.
What postcard is the most wanted
for you today and do you see a way to get it?
There are still 8 countries I don't have any postcards from (these
are: Timor Leste (East Timor), Tajikistan, Somalia, Swaziland,
Lesotho, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau). So these
would certainly be very nice to get. Then there are many small
islands that are not independent countries, but are part of other
countries. Such are Andaman, Nicobar and Lakadives Islands (part of
India), Asmore & Cartier, Christmas, Cocos and Norfolk Islands (part
of Australia), Turks & Caicos, Monserrat and Anguilla Islands (part
of United Kingdom) etc. Many countries (esp. large) are composed of
states or other, half-independent entities, and from many of these I
don't have any postcards. So all these would be highly appreciated:
Chhattisgarh, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh,
Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram (states in India), Kelantan,
Ohor and Negeri Sembilan (states in Malaysia), Bangka Belitung,
Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jambi, South Kalimantan, Central
Kalimantan, Lampung, North Moluccas, Papua, Riau, West, Sulawesi,
Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and South Sumatera (states in
Indionesia), Jilin and Liaoning provinces in China, Coahuila and
Nayarit states in Mexico, Acre, Amapá, Maranhão, Mato Grosso,
Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, Sergipe
and Tocantins (states in Brazil). Many countries are divided into
administrative (or similar) unites – and of course, from many of
these I don't have any postcards. All postcards from such regions
would be also very nice to get. What is common to these wishes is
the wish to diversify the collection. This means that I would like
to have postcards from as many as possible different locations
(places). I don't like so much 100 new postcards from Paris or
London or Ljubljana but much more just one postcard from an
unexpected location – possibly a place I never heard about before.
This is really much more interesting. So a postcard from, let say
Bolesławiec in Dolnośląskie region, would be really nice to get, as
I don't have any from this powiat.
Do you stay in touch with other
postcard collectors? If yes, please tell me how many people you know
personally and how many do you correspond with?
I had the opportunity to be in touch (via e-mail) with many postcard
collectors so far. I had trades with many so far, but with many of
them I have terminated the trades (mostly because the other side
stopped collecting or for some other reasons related to them). I
never stopped trading with anyone because of reasons from my side. I
can also say that I have sent postcards to many "collectors" but
didn't receive anything in return (and even no e-mail replies
later). But I was never angry because of this – this is also a part
of the "fun". However, I get new connections all the time. I try not
to have too many trades with other collectors simultaneously,
because then this can become too complicated. I am limiting the
number to somewhere around 10.
Was there a time period when you
were ready to give up collecting postcards? If yes, please tell me,
what made you maintain your hobby despite of this?
No, I don't remember any such times. Of course, there are times when
one has to do other, far more important work, and consequently there
is a lack of time for postcards, but sooner or later there is time
again.
Could you list some postcards
publishers that you think have the best postcards in your country or
in Europe or World? Why have you chosen that specific publisher?
In Slovenia these are certainly Sidarta Artcard and Prezlc. These
two publishing houses have excellent quality of print, very good
paper and the photographs are contributions from leading Slovenian
photographers. Otherwise, it is difficult to compare publishers from
different countries, but here are some that are certainly very good;
in this moment those that come to my mind are: Triangle Postals from
Spain (Catalunya), series of postcards issued by National Trust for
England, many postcards from Switzerland and Japan...
Could you say, that collecting
postcards taught you something?
Yes, of course, I am sure that I know many more data and facts about
different countries and towns as I would if I would not be
collecting postcards. Please, see also answer to the
last question.
Do you have any experience in
exchanging postcards with Polish collectors? What can you say about
that?
Beside exchanges with Piotr, I had one or two more from Poland, but
we traded just once or twice with each and then stopped. I think
that Poland has many interesting postcards, though the quality of
them (especially for smaller and less tourist places) is in some
cases somewhat low. Some multiview postcards have too many photos,
so it is difficult to discern what is depicted.
Could you tell me what are your
most negative experiences in trading postcards around the world?
I don't have any experiences that I would say were really negative.
There were, as I said before, cases that I didn't get back from
traders any postcards, but still, I would not say this was so
terribly negative. There is always a possible risk that should be
anticipated in advance. However, what I would say is really
negative, is when the postcards are lost (by the post). I had three
such experiences so far, but fortunately always with traders that I
knew for long time. So I knew that both of us can trust the other
and we were sure that it was really the post that made mistakes. But
it is really not pleasant.
What about Internet? Do you have
your own website about postcards? Do you see Internet as something
that makes collecting postcards easier? Something that takes it to
another level? Would it be harder for you to get postcards from
specific countries if there would be no Internet?
Without internet, I don't believe I would have any trades with other
collectors. It is really much easier to trade, to make new
connections, to buy postcards. I just could not imagine this hobby
without internet. Regarding my web site on postcards, I have one,
but it is password-protected and is offered only to those traders
that I know well. But on the site there are just postcards that I
have for trading. There are neither postcards from my collection nor
any other data regarding my collection on it.
Was there somebody that had offered
you money for selling your collection? Have you had a dilemma in
that situation or maybe you were sure that you don't want to sell
your postcards? Is there a postcard that you wouldn't sell even for
good money? If yes, what postcard it is?
No, I didn't have such an experience, yet. But even if one would
offer to buy my collection, I do not believe I would accept the
offer. At least not now, maybe when I will be much older – but
still, I don't believe.
Do you have any other interests
apart from collecting postcards? What could you tell me about it? Is
it somehow connected with postcards?
Yes, I have some other hobbies, but most of them have some
postcard-connection. I like to travel around, I also collect stamps,
banknotes and coins (not very seriously, just when I go somewhere, I
try to keep the least-valuable banknote and some coins). And
photography is the other great hobby for me.
Is there anything you would like to
add to this interview?
I would just like to encourage everybody to serious postcard
collecting as this is, in my opinion at least, a very rewarding
experience that brings appreciation of different places and cultures
around our only World.
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