Post

Mail sent to a box in Boston, cataloged.

Postcards, mail art, letters and paper ephemera that arrive at the Third Polar Arch PO box. Each piece gets a catalog number and the plain facts: where it came from, the postmark, the stamps, the paper, and a date estimate with its reasoning. Where something is a guess, it says so.

Send anything to Third Polar ArchATTN: post.cold.fyiPO Box 120264Boston, MA 02112-0264

23 pieces cataloged, newest first.

  1. Black mismatched display letters spelling Home is where the heart is, on white. P-0025postcard Home Is Where the Heart Is, Monument Series by Kristen Mallia
  2. Soft-edged abstract painting of a dark mound mirrored above and below a horizontal line, in browns, pinks and blues. P-0024postcard Isola (Island), painting by Marcello Cinque
  3. Purple-toned print of jagged mountains under a large moon, with brushed edges. P-0023postcard Lunar Landscape 4, anthotype by Jesseca Ferguson Boston, Massachusetts, US, 2022
  4. Black and white photograph of a white toy horse standing on an open old book, an engraved library interior behind it. P-0022postcard Two horses/book, pinhole photograph by Jesseca Ferguson Boston, Massachusetts, US, 2017
  5. Painting of the TD Garden bowl from above, the floor half Celtics parquet and half Bruins ice, under the scoreboard. P-0020postcard Painting of TD Garden, split basketball court and hockey rink Boston, Massachusetts, US
  6. Two silhouetted deer under a red Season's Greetings sign, with cardinals, bare trees and snow. P-0019ephemera Season's Greetings card, two deer and cardinals
  7. Illustrated map of France crowded with landmarks, food and people, a woman on a red bicycle and a hot-air balloon. P-0018postcard Illustrated map of France by Amelie Laffaiteur
  8. Lettering reading World Postcard Day 2026 in teal and orange ribbons, with an orange moon and white bridge arches. P-0017postcard World Postcard Day 2026 2026
  9. Painting of a woman in a high-necked black dress seated in profile against an ochre wall. P-0016postcard Helene Schjerfbeck, The Needlewoman, art reproduction Finland, Mailed for World Postcard Day 2026
  10. Illustration of a singer in a red suit gripping a microphone stand, with a matching stamp and a pictorial first-day cancel in the corner. P-0015postcard Johnny O'Keefe maximum card, first day of issue 1998 Sunbury, Victoria, Australia, May 1998
  11. Aerial photograph of a long walled compound of orange-roofed halls surrounded by low grey city blocks. P-0014postcard Bird's-eye view of the birthplace of Confucius, 1998 postal card Beijing, China, Printed 1998, mailed 2026
  12. Photograph of a giant corpse flower with a tall yellow spike and a ruffled purple spathe among greenhouse palms. P-0013postcard Corpse flower at Como Park's Marjorie McNeely Conservatory Saint Paul, Minnesota, US, Mailed September 2026
  13. Two white cranes with black-edged wings flying against a deep blue background inside a white border. P-0012postcard Two red-crowned cranes in flight, Japanese card Japan
  14. Photograph of a seven-story brick pagoda among temple roofs under a blue sky, with a faux postmark graphic. P-0011postcard Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an Taiwan
  15. Photograph of a traditional Chinese hall with dark wooden columns carrying vertical calligraphy and a central scroll painting. P-0010postcard Hall of Fresh and Clear Benevolence, East Hill Taiwan
  16. Graphic of the Bauhaus building in Dessau with yellow, blue and red blocks and the words Jahrhundert Legende. P-0009postcard Bauhaus Dessau centenary postcard, Jahrhundert Legende Germany, 2026
  17. Photograph of a mounted dinosaur skeleton with open jaws in a museum hall, other fossil mounts behind. P-0008postcard Theropod skeleton at Zuojhen Fossil Park, Tainan Taiwan
  18. Grey board with rounded corners holding a block of vertical paper pleats, stitched along the bottom with pink cross-stitches. P-0007mail art Corrugated kraft panel stitched with pink thread Taiwan, September 2026
  19. Illustrated card of ten clown faces in ruffled collars under the words Down to Clown, on a polka-dot ground. P-0006ephemera Down to Clown greeting card, ten clown faces
  20. Grey card with white script Thank You, the line For a Wonderful Year, and a Happy New Year graphic. P-0005ephemera Thank-you card, For a Wonderful Year
  21. Painted illustration of two red deer stags nuzzling in a sunlit forest clearing. P-0003postcard Illustration of two stags touching noses in a forest
  22. Pen drawing of a wide-eyed duck holding a cupcake with a dollar-sign candle, captioned Happy Birthday. P-0002postcard Hand-drawn birthday duck, Sophia Stel promo card
  23. Large gold numerals 2019 over blue and gold starbursts. P-0001ephemera Foil-stamped 2019 New Year greeting card Late 2018 to early 2019