Cyanotype postcards aren’t anything new and were in fact made popular back in the late 19th century by Burton Holmes, an American professional traveler, photographer and filmmaker who is credited with coining the term ‘travelogue.’ Postcards and travel have a special bond and they either evoke a desire to travel or rekindle memories of having experienced someplace. Sending a postcard is also an act of endearment, of having thought of someone while the other is far away.
At my studio Kanike, we began making a few cyanotype postcards and decided to make this a community project and rekindle the use of postal stationary. We asked people to send in their addresses so that we could mail them a cyanotype postcard each - and spread some cheer around.
We made over 70 postcards during the first round (with generous assistance from colleagues Krishanu Chatterjee, Sujata Khanna, Snigdha Rana) and despatched it to people who had shared their addresses with us, both within India and abroad.
We would love to continue sending out postcards, allowing people to enjoy a cyanotype print and the act of receiving a postcard as well. Kindly share your address with us, if you’d like one - no matter which part of the world you are located in. We promise that your address will be safe with us and will be used only for this purpose. Although we aren’t sure when would be hit the dark room again to make the postcards, be assured that you will receive one when we make our next batch.