Of course I love the beautiful fronts of postcards, but sometimes the best thing about them is the back. The messages, handwriting and little historical gems hidden away on the back are sometimes a delightful surprise.

I have a category in my database to mark the "Slice of Life" cards where the message is just about their every day lives but for me reading it 100 years later it is fascinating. This card with embossed flowers on the front and silver foil backing has a message about ball games on the college campus and student outings to Mammoth cave in Kentucky. It was also sent to a discontinued post office (Sunrise, Kentucky) which is apparently a whole category that people collect. (Click for bigger images)

Or this one which is interesting front and back. I bought it for the Panama flag on the front (my birth country) and found out while researching that this card was made during World War I to show the allies in the war. That is interesting enough on its own, but I love the back as well. Pauline had a grand time going to the theater with her friends and is looking forward to future outings, but the rain may put a damper and she wants to swear a blue streak about it. I just love reading cards like this. Postcard collecting is leading me down so many historical little rabbit holes and I love each one.