Privacy On Letters And Postcards

Probably many of you has inherited letters from a relative or got old envelopes and postcards from unknown people. While some people aren't interested in keeping them, a lot of people collect them: any item or specific themed ones (like letter from grandma to granddaughter, soldiers to family etc).

When they die, many famous authors have their letters published in books or internet. Would you mind if that happens to your written things? Do you think we can expect any privacy when we send a postcard or letter? If the postman reads your postcard and comments about it with you, how would you feel? And if you read an old letter from someone unknown, have you ever imagined that the writer wouldn't enjoy that?

Some few times when I went to the post office to send postcards, a new clerk understood English and made comments about the postcards. She really loved it and decided to join Postcrossing but I was embarrassed with the situation. I know that anyone can read a postcard and if you want privacy, you should put inside an envelope. But still I felt uncomfortable.

So... do you think we can expect different levels of privacy if we're alive or if we die? If we die could our letters be sold or given to anyone else?

My personal privacy will no longer be of interest to me once I am no longer in this world, as long as I am not causing scandal, or harming the reputation of those who still remain.

In the 1880s, in the U.S., there was great controversy about the lack of privacy afforded by the growing use of postal cards. It was truly a hot-button item!

Interesting question.

I was in a thrift shop once and I bought a collection postcards in an old Edwardian Album.
The postcards all turned out to be from various persons of one family doing the "Grand Tour" of Europe for about 5 years around 1905-1911, so they were obviously wealthy.

A little research lead me to the information that the sender was a prominent minister of the Methodist Church in Victoria and the cards were to a niece.

They are an interesting eye opener to the Grand Tour.
As an archaeologist, to me they are a primary source of information and slowly but slowly I am transcribing the information and will one day hopefully publish it in an historical journal.
If a person or family dispose of letters, postcards and documents, they are then in the public domain, and I feel that I have a right to publish them.

Once in the public domain, all skeletons are there for the public viewing, (here I am talking of discarded property)

I also have some very interesting correspondence of the Opera Singer Dame Nellie Melba written to my Great Grandmother, but as these are still in the family, they will remain private until such time if and when my descendants decide to dispose of them, but it would be highly unlikely that will happen, as my family has been archiving documents for many centuries.

Postcards are always going to be read by the Post Man and there is nothing any-one can do about it.
If you do not want any to read your letters, cards etc, when you are gone, then shred them before hand.
Horamakhet

Hi Brisingamen,

If you are bothered about people reading your postcard mail, use code. This was once a widely used method of securing privacy. Dead easy as long as your co-respondent has the key.

Terry

We all have some secrets and some little things and thoughts to hide. We sometimes tell these to a dear friend that he might accept these secrets with loving understanding, or secretly written in our diaries. When we pass away. people who read these letters or diaries do not make important impressions in their mind simply because they don't know us. However, if these people know us well, like our sons and daughters, close relatives, and our grandchildren, privacy becomes an important issue. This is more important when these writings were misinterpreted. Such probably is the case of the 3 million dollar Einstein's letter about "doubting God". Let us think about this.

Yes. I believe that if we decide to send postcards knowing that, while in transit, its nature allows anyone to read it, we take the risk and shouldn't write things we don't want a third part to know.

I couldn't expect any expectation of privacy on a postcard and certainly don't expect privacy when I'm gone. I'm more interested in the information kept by companies and countries tracking everything by the use of computers and smart phones. The short notes on a card or longer letters don't have enough to make a nun blush.

In earlier Great Britain you could pay more for a Letter card if you wanted privacy, 2½d vs 1d for a Postcard. Not sure if any other Countries offered the "Letter card".

Letter Card -







Post Card

Germany had letter cards. I think alot of countries had letter cards.

Here is one from Paraguay.

I have some letters I found at a flea market. A small collection of of letters addressed to someone who seems to have been a ocean liner Don Juan during the 1920's. Its a bundle of letters and photos that this gentleman had saved - the letters were from a number of young ladies begging him to contact them again. The photos were of a dashing gent posing with different elegant ladies on various ships at dinner parties etc. I guess he was a love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy.

I know the gentleman is dead - I can only assume that his friends have also passed on by now.

I'm not sure these letters should be copied all over the internet, but on the other hand, they sure are an interesting/valuable glimpse into a different time and place.

Sounds like he had a happy time while he was here.

Terry

Edit for spelling error. TC.

When a computer geek told me that sending an e-mail, in terms of privacy, was just like sending a postcard, I started getting worried. When we read about what cookies, flash files etc can do, we should worry. I agree with you, it's more serious than reading common letters.

That's one of my questions. My grandmother could never imagine that her letter would be read by millions of people worldwide in internet. Maybe she imagined that her future generations would keep and read them (or not) but she couldn't dream about internet's potential. It's different with famous writers that exchanged letters in the past - because they were famous, they could have imagined that lots of people could read their writings after they passed away. Probably many of them were meticulous when writing to friends.

I sent a postcard last month (in postcrossing*) and the recipient scanned its front and back and posted in a blog. It has my comments which were not "public" - it was directed to this person although it was impersonal. I feel that I'm living in times where everything I send by airmail may be published in internet in the present or in the future. It changed my way of writing - I'm less spontaneous for example. I'm not sure if someone else went by a similar situation.

I could email the person and ask him to delete the written part of the postcard but then I think: which rights have I on a piece of paper that I sent to someone (give)? Is it of my property or I passed my property of this paper to the recipient and he does with it what he wants?

I'm just venting. I think he can do with it what he wants but I cannot avoid expecting a kind of "common sense" of not publishing something that was sent by private means unless the writer agrees (if he's alive). But maybe I'm too picky.

* so I couldn't use secret codes like Terence Collins suggested - what is a nice idea for friends! ;)