SPECIMEN POSTCARDS

I began taping debris (garbage) to blank postcards during the late 1970s. One example was this 1979 postcard mailed from Dieppe, France, to New Haven, Connecticut. I also sent debris cards from Asia in 1981 and from other parts of the United States in the following years. I usually sent these garbage cards to friends and others who might appreciate the souvenir.

The debis collecting was very simple. I'd take a piece of clear tape and press it to crumbs on a dinner table or the floor of a room or building or street where bits of fine cultural detritus could be found. I would then tape it to a postcard and mail it out.

Paul Rutkovsky