The article presents an analysis of the forms of address retrieved from Polish and Russian messages sent on postcards in the second half of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century. The aim of the analysis is to present formal and pragmatic characteristics of the speech acts in question in a comparative perspective and to describe the functions performed by them in short epistolary texts. The study reveals, among others, that in both languages forms of address frequently consist of expressive adjectives and proper names. Along with other linguistic means (including widely used diminutive forms, hypocorisms and exclamation marks), they testify to the deeply private and emotional nature of the analysed correspondence.