They are nostalgic mementoes, capable of evoking long-forgotten childhood memories of family holidays.
And now an exhibition of postcards, sent from one of the north-east’s most picturesque seaside locations, have gone on display.
The items, stretching back more than a century, have been pinned to boards at Cullen Library, as the community celebrates its longstanding role as a tourist draw.
In addition to showing the changing scenery of the coastal village, the exhibition reveals how people’s holidaying tastes have evolved over the decades.
One postcard, sent from Cullen to London in 1961, contains the phrase “lol”.
But, rather than suspecting the sender of being an early pioneer of “text speak”, library staff reckon she was expressing “lots of love” to a relative.
That same card depicts less-than-ideal holiday circumstances because the sender had to endure rainy weather which left “everything in Cullen soaking”.
Another message, sent to Motherwell, features a view from the village’s Castlehill and notes that its sender had been “playing lots of golf”.
The oldest exhibit dates from 1904, and another was posted to London in 1906.
Librarian, Molly McGrail, said she hopes the display will entice locals and visitors into the building this summer.
She added: “We are always looking at ways to bring more people into the library during the holiday period, and it is interesting to see that Cullen has been a holiday destination for quite some time.
“By looking at the postcards, we can see little bits of the village that have changed, and what it looked like more than a century ago.
“There are some beautiful views that evoke memories of all sorts of different stories associated with Cullen over the years.
“We hope that tourists will be keen to see how visitors spent their time here decades ago.”
The collection has been loaned to the library from Cullen Heritage Centre and will be on view until September.
The library is open from 2pm to 5pm, and from 6pm to 8pm, from Tuesday to Thursday.
On Saturdays, it is open from 10am to noon.