"A seller of kerchiefs" (from the series "Russian types").
Publishing house of P. Von Girgenson. 1900s.
Fantastic postcard from Nadya (Russia).

Moscow (two upper) and Nizhny Novgorod Kremlins.

The postcard from Helena. She lives in South Ostrobothnia (Finland) with her husband and an old black cat.

This multiview postcard arrived from Laura, who lives in Savona (Italy).

Wiki says:
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea.
Savona used to be one of the chief seats of the Italian iron industry, having iron-works and foundries, shipbuilding, railway workshops, engineering shops, and a brass foundry.
One of the most celebrated former inhabitants of Savona was the navigator Christopher Columbus, who farmed land in the area while chronicling his journeys. 'Columbus's house', a cottage situated in the Savona hills, lay between vegetable crops and fruit trees. It is just one of many residences in Liguria associated with Columbus.

An ad-card from Rita (Lisbon, Portugal) with forever young Hugh Hefner.

Richard from Guangzhou (South China) sent me this view of Jigong Hill at Xinyang.

Beauties on an Outing  (Detail).
Came from Rosiel (Taiwan)... 

... with the incredible seal she made on the occasion of Year of the Rabbit.

Beauties on an Outing .
Attributed to Li Kung-lin (1049-1106), Sung Dynasty .
Handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 33.4 x 112.6 cm

This work is based on the archaic verse "Beauties on an Outing" by Tu Fu (711-770), who described therein the opulent beauty of the noble ladies of Ch'in, Han, and Kuo (the latter being the elder sister of the famous Yang Kuei-fei). Nine figures are shown here on an excursion on horseback in early spring. The plump ladies and muscular horses as well as the clothing, hairstyles, and coloring all suggest the style of T'ang (618-907) culture and painting. A late Northern Sung (960-1126) copy of a T'ang rendition of this subject is similar in composition to this one. Later connoisseurs, perhaps because Li Kung-lin was said to specialize in figures and horses, attributed it as a copy done by him. Actually, this work was completed probably some time after the Southern Sung period (1127-1279).

Nice retro styled postcard from Irina (Moskow, Russia). Kremlin, Tsarskaya Square.

Stamps are gorgeous!

This postcard came from Natalya (Minsk, Belarus). It is dedicated to the Belarusian folk tradition of Kolyada (Christmas carol), which is celebrated from the end of December to mid January. Our cultures are very close, so here, in Ukraine, we have the same tradition. We sing "kolyadky" during the all Christmas holidays.

The monument of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznań (Poland). Sent be Ewa from Torun.

Wiki says:
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (1798-1855) was a Polish or Polish-Lithuanian poet of the Romantic period. He was also a publisher and political writer, one of the founding thinkers of a Romantic movement called Polish messianism. He is one of Poland's Three Bards – a national poet of Poland and one of the greatest Slavic language poets alongside Alexander Pushkin. He has also been described as a transformation poet and Slavonic bard. He was the most prominent creator of Romantic drama in Poland compared both at home and in Western Europe to Byron and Goethe. He is known primarily as the author of the poetic novel Dziady and national epic Pan Tadeusz, which is considered the last great epic of Polish-Lithuanian noble culture. Mickiewicz's other influential works include Konrad Wallenrod and Grażyna. All served as inspiration during regional rebellions and as foundations for the concept of Poland as "the Christ of Nations". Mickiewicz was active in the struggle to achieve independence for his homeland, then part of the Russian Empire. Having spent five years in internal exile in central Russia for political activities, he left the Empire in 1829 and spent the rest of his life in exile, settling first in Rome, later in Paris, where he became professor of Slavic literature at the Collège de France. He died, probably of cholera, at Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, where he had gone to help organize Polish forces to fight against Russia in the Crimean War. His remains were later moved to Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland.

This winter view postcard arrived from Pia (Finland).

One more postcard from Netherlands. It came from Christa who lives in the city Roosendaal.

A women from Nuremberg (Germany) sent me this vintage postcard with a photo by Anni Kunze.

This postcard from Daniel depicts two span-, 280 ft. long Dummerston Bridge, built by Celeb B. Lamson in 1872. It is Vermont's longest covered bridge and historically one of the most important of its in United States. This bridge carries East-West Road over the West River.

A photo with the monument of wooden architecture in Tomsk (Russia). Came as a postcard from Natalia.

Ryazan Kremlin

Postcard from Janet, English woman living in Canada.

Wiki says:
The Vancouver Public Library is the third largest public library system in Canada, with 22 branches, over 395,000 cardholders and more than 8 million item borrowings annually. The central branch opened in Downtown Vancouver on May 26, 1995 and cost 106.8 million CAD to build. It currently holds over 2.25 million items.

Amazing stamps! The upper right stamp is dedicated to Ukrainian pysanka erected in Vegreville, Alberta (Canada) in 1974. This is the world's largest pysanka which was commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

I dreamed about a postcard from India. Now I have one & it is definitely one of the most beautiful that I ever received! Sita from Mumbai sent it to me. It depicts a girl from Rajasthan (the largest state of the Republic of India) in her traditional outfit.

The stamp is also incredible.

The card from California Wine Country sent by Julie. July loves Lady Earl Grey tea and the smell of freshly rained on pavement.

Wiki says:
The Wine Country is a region of Northern California in the United States known worldwide as a premium wine-growing region. Viticulture and wine-making have been practiced in the region since the mid-19th century. There are over 400 wineries in the area north of San Francisco, mostly located in the area's valleys, including Napa Valley in Napa County, and the Sonoma Valley, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Bennett Valley, and Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. Wine grapes are also grown at higher elevations, such as Atlas Peak and Mount Veeder AVAs. The region is defined not only in terms of viticulture, but also its ecology, geology, architecture, cuisine, and culture. The majority of the grape harvest, in terms of both area and value, derives from Sonoma County.

Please adopt a shelter pet!

My first Kaj Stenvall's duck received from Maija (Hämeenlinnan, Finland). Beautiful!

A stamp with the flag of Finland.

The beautiful view of The Federal Territory Mosque, sent by Anne from Malaysia.  

Wiki says:
The Federal Territory Mosque or Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan is a major mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located near MATRADE complex and the Federal Government Complex off Jalan Duta.
The Kuala Lumpur Mosque was constructed between 1998 and 2000. It is situated on a five hectare site near the Government Office Complex along Jalan Duta. The Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory) Mosque was opened to the public on October 25, 2000 and was officiated by the 12th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni Almarhum Syed Putra Jamalulail. It is the 44th mosque built by the Government within the city limits. The mosque can accommodate 17,000 devotees at one time.
The mosque's design is a blend of Ottoman and Malay architectural styles, heavily influenced by the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It has 22 domes made from a composite material of glass fibre fabric mixed with epoxy resin to make it durable and light.

A vintage postcard sent by Jacqueline, a writer and photographer, now living in rural Pennsylvania (USA).