The knock of the Postman at the doorstep and the Postcard handed over in his hands once filled the entire family with anticipation. A few words written on a postcard felt like the voice of a loved one living far away. That is why the postcard became more than just a piece of paper—it evolved into a medium that connected emotions and relationships. With time, modes of communication continued to evolve. Telephone, mobile phones, the internet and social media began delivering messages within seconds. Yet, the historical and emotional memories associated with postcards continue to endure. From politicians to litterateurs and social reformers, many have made effective use of postcards to convey their messages and ideas. On October 1, 2026, the postcard marked 157 years of its existence globally. Postmaster General of North Gujarat Region, Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav, said that the world's first postcard was issued in Austria on October 1, 1869.

Regarding the story behind this, Senior Officer of Indian Postal Service Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav, Postmaster General said that the idea for the postcard first occurred to an Austrian representative named Kolbensteiner, who shared it with Dr. Emanuel Herrmann, a professor of economics at the Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. Finding the idea quite appealing, Dr. Herrmann wrote an article about it in a newspaper on January 26, 1869. The Austrian Postal Authority acted swiftly on the idea, and the first postcard was issued on October 1, 1869, marking the beginning of the postcard’s journey around the world. The world’s first postcard was yellow in colour, measuring 122 mm in length and 85 mm in width. One side was designated for writing the recipient’s address, while the other side was left blank for writing the message.

Renowned as distinguished writer, Postmaster General Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav mentioned in his book "India Post : 150 Glorious Years" that the first postcard in India was issued in 1879. Printed in a light brown colour, the postcard was priced at 3 paise and bore the inscription “East India Postcard.” The Royal Coat of Arms of Great Britain was printed in the centre, while the upper-right corner featured a red-brown portrait of Queen Victoria wearing a crown. This medium of expression became so popular among the people that postcards worth approximately ₹7.5 lakh were sold during the first three quarters of the year alone.

It is noteworthy that until now, four types of postcards—Meghdoot postcards, ordinary postcards, printed postcards, and competition postcards—were available at post offices, priced at 25 paise, 50 paise, ₹6, and ₹10, respectively. With effect from December 20, 2024, all these categories have been merged into a single “Postcard” category.

It is worth mention that More than 1.11 crore postcards were written by people associated with the cooperative sector in Gujarat to express gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, setting a new Guinness World Record in the process. In all, 1,11,75,000 postcards were written to the PM, thanking him for GST reforms and several other measures. Postmaster General Shri Krishna Kumar Yadav said that the campaign emerged as a remarkable example of the power of postcards as a medium of collective expression and public participation. This initiative was undertaken under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation in collaboration with Department of Posts at Gujarat. For the first time in the world such a large number of postcards were written simultaneously, and Guinness World Records officials awarded a certificate for the achievement on 14 October, 2025 after the counting at a venue on Sabarmati Riverfront. According to Guinness World Records, the previous record was held by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) / Section Water (Switzerland) Basel, Switzerland with 6,666 postcards.

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