Any recommendations for FP-friendly postcard box-sets in 2022?

[Mercian]

Hi all,

I have noticed that almost every shop near where I live has now stopped selling postcards. The ones that do still sell them seem now to only sell postcards that are very thin and flimsy, and are printed on card-stock that is very ‘glossy’ and smooth.

Such cards are just-about usable if one wishes to write on them with a ballpoint (😱), but are pretty-much useless if one has taste and discernment and wishes to write with a fountain pen.

 

I have, therefore, started looking online at the ‘box sets’ of postcards that are sold by various companies/museums/stores in order to cater to the ‘postcrossing’ community.

Obviously, many postcrossers are going to be content to use ballpoints for their hobby, and so I expect that many of the box-sets of postcards that are aimed at that market will be as worthless to fountain-pen-users as are the majority of the few ‘tourist’ postcards that one can still buy today.

 

I personally live in the UK, and I am thinking of ordering one or more of the postcard sets from the V&A museum in London, or the Bodleian Library in Oxford, or perhaps from other similar institutions here. But that’s just me. My personal interests are parochial and trivial in comparison to my overall goal in starting this thread, which is as a future reference source.

I am starting this thread in the hope that those of you have managed to find box-sets of postcards that are printed on fountain-pen-friendly card stock - no matter where in the world - will list them here for future reference.

Please therefore do add any fp-friendly postcard box-sets that you have found, and where (country and/or shop/website) you managed to find them.

 

My thanks to you in advance for your answers.

Slàinte,

M.

[Anne-Sophie]

 

Nowadays, I think that quality postcard can only be found in non-profit shops, including museums, botanical gardens and estates with gift shops.

 

I checked the Clairefontaine page, just in case, and found a whole page of what they call, carte simple in contrast to folded.

 

https://www.clairefontaine.com/gb/3598-paquet-de-5-cartes-simples-148x210mm-210g-m2-26616c.html

 

 

Below is the link for Verge de France cards, I know for sure that they are fountain pen friendly because they were/are the standard official paper.

https://www.clairefontaine.com/gb/2595-25-verge-de-france-flat-cards-107x152mm-210g-16850l.html

 

 

Link to a review for the tablet paper.

https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2014/03/review-g-lalos-verge-de-france-writing-pad/

 

 

The paper is a bit textured, this is why I don't have any. On the same page, there is a review for the pollen cards.

 

 

 

The third link below is for Pollen simple cards,they are not textured and great for fountain pen. 

 

https://www.clairefontaine.com/gb/3459-5926-paquet-de-25-cartes-simples-pollen-158x222mm-210g-m2-1616c.html#/34-colour-white

 

 

Link to the Verge de France reviews in the FPN, sub forum paper reviews.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/search/?q=verge de france&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=41

[Mercian]

Thank you for those 

They will be great for me for ‘general use’ 😊

Do you happen to know whether my memory that the G. Lalo Velin de France range of paper/cards is not textured is correct?

 

My main interest in starting this thread was to ask about the box-sets that are sold by museums etc, the ones that have images/artwork on their fronts.

I want to buy some of those to send out to other ‘postcard exchange’ participants, because my supply of decent ‘local’ postcards is now running-out 😔

[Anne-Sophie]

On 3/18/2022 at 5:52 PM, Mercian said:

Thank you for those 

They will be great for me for ‘general use’ 😊

Do you happen to know whether my memory that the G. Lalo Velin de France range of paper/cards is not textured is correct?

 

My main interest in starting this thread was to ask about the box-sets that are sold by museums etc, the ones that have images/artwork on their fronts.

I want to buy some of those to send out to other ‘postcard exchange’ participants, because my supply of decent ‘local’ postcards is now running-out 😔

 

I am almost certain that velin is not textured because I remember owning  items with the name velin, in them.

 

[Mercian]

I have only just realised that I have failed to update this thread 

 

So, if anyone is looking for FP-friendly postcard sets, I can confirm that the ‘Japanese Woodblock Prints’ and ‘Pattern’ sets of 100 cards sold by the online shop of the V&A in London (the Victoria & Albert Museum of Art & Design) are suitable for use with fountain pens 

Or, at least, they are with the fine-nibbed pens that I favour.

 

I may well buy their set of 100 William Morris designs next (it was sold-out when I bought the other two).

 

In the meantime, do please feel free to PM me if you would like to receive a postcard from a notorious blatherskite who lives in England 😉