Lecture “How Postcards Connected the World at the Turn of the 20th Century”

How did a small postcard become one of the defining symbols of the age of mass travel and international communication? During the lecture, we will trace the history of the postcard and discover the role it played in spreading knowledge about different countries, preserving cultural memory, and shaping people’s perceptions of the world.

Together with postcards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, participants will embark on a journey to different corners of the globe and see how this seemingly simple object became an important means of communication and visual storytelling about its time. We will discuss people’s everyday lives, the development of postal services, and the culture of collecting, as well as why vintage postcards are considered valuable historical sources today.

Through images, handwritten messages, and postmarks, we will try to see the world through the eyes of people from the past and understand how postcards helped people discover other countries, cultures, and traditions, connecting people long before the emergence of modern means of communication.

The lecturer is Timur Khusyainov, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Literature and Intercultural Communication at HSE University – Nizhny Novgorod, and creator of the educational project Pochtovoye (“Postal”).

The event is part of the Annual Festival of African Cultures (August 3–22, 2026). To enter the Library, you will need a library card or a photo ID.