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Not only are postcards as common in seaside shops as beach balls and seaside rock, vintage postcards are also very collectible. Like stamps and coins, collecting old postcards is a hobby that is popular with millions of people worldwide. The term Deltiology refers to the study and collecting of postcards.
The first recorded use of a picture postcard was in 1840 the postcard was posted to Theodore Hook a writer who lived at Fulham in London. The card which has a Penny Black stamp sold at a London auction in 2002 for £27,000 a total price of £31,750 including tax and commission. [1]
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In 1870 postcards were introduced into Britain by the Post Office, at first these plain cards were only for use in Britain.
It was not until 1875 that Britain issued a post card for use abroad and in 1894 the Post Office allowed others to publish postcards.
In 1902 Britain was the first to introduce divided back postcards. This allowed senders to put the address and the message on the same side of the card. Previously only the address and postal information was allowed on the address side, and any illustration had to share space with the message on the other side
1902 - 1914 was probably the Golden Age for the postcard a time before the telephone was in nearly every ones home and before cameras were commonplace, a postcard with a professionally taken photograph or an artistic illustration could be sent around the world with a "wish you were here" message for the cost of a postage stamp.
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undivided back postcard posted in 1901 with a Victorian penny stamp |
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As the rail network spread across the UK, more and more families began to head to the seaside for their annual holiday and the traditional seaside postcard became a staple part of the holiday experience.
By the 1930s saucy cartoon style postcards became popular, stereotypical and making ample use of innuendo, these enduring and humorous postcards sold more than 16 million copies per year at the height of their popularity. Despite their success, the traditional saucy postcard that was so beloved of the British people became the subject of a government crackdown.
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| copyright consent granted by the
Donald McGill Museum & Archive |
Many resorts had their own committees to decide which cards could be sold to the public. The Donald McGill card above was published by D.Constance LTD., and has an approved stamp from the Cleethorpes comic card censorship committee.
The postcards were seen as the embodiment of a decline in British morals and famous postcard artist Donald McGill, was prosecuted in 1954 for breaking the Obscene Publications Act.
Postcards can be purchased from gift shops and newsagents in all seaside towns across the UK and are just as popular on the continent. Any visit to a tourist attraction, either in the UK or abroad, will yield a wealth of postcards available for purchase as souvenirs.
So many of the older cards have survived that many are still affordable and a collection can be started for very little money, but some of the rarer examples can cost a lot of money.
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