One of the joys of Maximaphily is the exchanging with overseas collectors. Many overseas collectors will only accept privately created cards as Post Office produced cards, obtained easily show lack of research when used in exhibits.

Joining the US international MACSU (Maximum Card Study Unit) will give you information about other collectors and an International list of exchange partners. A non-profit organisation, affiliated with the American Philatelic Society.

Creating Maximum Cards using old matte finished postcards presents no difficulty, but the modern, hard gloss finished, postcards test your ingenuity. I have read and tried many methods to prepare gloss finish to take and retain postmarks. Erasers, talc or soft abrasive powders, light scraping with a razor blade are among the many accepted ways of preparing your card.

I am using a method suggested by a thematic friend. I am using "Super Matte" Ceramic Sealer available from some potteries. If used very lightly this seems to work well, even with the poor ink used at some country post offices. However too much dulls the finish of the card and absorbs the ink until it is barely legible, but I still prefer it to the scratched surface some collectors create with their razor blades.

I spray my cards very lightly with a matte porcelain finish then I use sandpaper on the small area I affix the stamp otherwise it will peel off after a couple of months of hot weather.

When I visited Bangkok '93 I was unable to take the highly inflammable aerosol can and experimented with lots of abrasives with the cooperation of my local post master, I finally settled on "Solvol" Soap. (Light Sand Soap, figure 2).

It left a bit of a soapy smear behind that I had to carefully wash off before I could use the cards but I was satisfied with the results.

However, the official FDI postmark may be unsuitable, so then I look at the lists of permanent everyday pictorial postmarks available and find one with the best concord possible. Lists of each State are available from each State GPOs. There are several recent books of Pictorial postcards available at larger Philatelic Societies

So when I read in the "Bulletin" that a stamp is to be issued that will enhance my collection, I search newsagents, Art Gallery etc. for a suitable postcard. There are many lovely old cards to be bought at the annual South Australian Postal History Bourse. Really old cards have more rarity than a modern cards.

If it the new issue is to depict a definite place, such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge or Kakadu, I search the phone book, find a Newsagent in the area, and send for postcards. Once I have obtained the cards I prepare them as I mentioned earlier, and on the day of issue, I affix the stamp and send it off to get the FDI picto­rial postmark (If it is suitable). Most places, will accept FDI items for about a week after the stamp issue.

Figure 3 - Card bought from Adelaide Botanic Gardens Shop and cancelled at BANKSIA, NSW

However, you need a good sense of humour and you must keep calm when a post office ruins your postmarks with heavy smearing - or the postmark completely misses the stamp or is scarcely on the card at all and is quite illegible. And I have been caught with the post office changing their pictorial postmark and the new one they kindly applied ruined my cards.

Several years ago I found some beautiful ‘Tiger’ postcards and sent them to Christmas Island for the Chinese New Year of the Tiger. Although I explained in words and in drawings exactly what I wanted, my beautiful cards came back with the CDS of Christmas Island – No Tiger at all! As the cards were irreplaceable, I complained and they offered to pay for the stamps. Too bad about the postcards!

Remember that every one of your correctly created cards are unique - and show research and knowledge, which is missing from any card bought at a post office counter.