As a young lad the scantily clad women on the cards were eye opening and as a slightly older young lad, the innuendoes were well worth a titter behind the card rack. Of course you didn’t pick one of those to buy, not in front of mum and dad; you chose a nice view of the resort. Then you took it back to where you were staying to write out to send to your friend back home.
If you were feeling kind the message usually was “Having a nice time, wish you were here.” However if you were that way out, and wanted to remind him that he wasn’t on holiday while you were then it would be, “Having a fantastic time. Wish you were here?”
By the time you were into your teens then inevitably you’d be bold enough to pick and send one of the saucy ones.
During the holiday season I’m sure delivering the mail gave the postman a bit of a giggle.
The Benny Hill type humour reflected British humour that was popular in the late fifties, sixties and seventies and seen in the popular “Carry On” series of films.
They usually contained buxom women, hen pecked husbands and “courting” couples, and always the innuendo or double entendre.
The postcard first appeared in the mid nineteenth century.
In “A brief history of the picture postcard” by Judith & Stephen Holder (FRPS) they write
“The creation of the postcard by Dr Emanuel Hermann in Austria on 1 October 1869 set in motion a revolution in the communication of the ordinary message of no especial importance, the private note, the mundane or jolly remark, the 'wish you were here' - indeed any short note for which no real 'security' was required.
Almost all the main developments in the artistic designs of Postcard art originated on the continent, in Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland. The two main exceptions which developed in Great Britain were the Comic card and to some extent the Real Photograph cards of social, industrial and village history.”
Jonathan Duffy(BBC News Online) quotes from a book by Collector Tom Phillips.
“They were classless and democratic and the limited space was a blessing to those with poor spelling or without much to say. “
In an essay in 1941, the renowned author George Orwell wrote:
“Who does not know the 'comics' of the cheap stationers' windows, the penny or twopenny coloured post cards with their endless succession of fat women in tight bathing-dresses and their crude drawing and unbearable colours, chiefly hedge-sparrow's-egg tint and Post Office red?”
“In general, however, they are not witty, but humorous, and it must be said for McGill's post cards, in particular, that the drawing is often a good deal funnier than the joke beneath it.”
Donald McGill ,was one of several notable illustrators, who among others included Tom Browne, John Hassall, Bruce Bairnsfather and Alfred Lees.
Unfortunately for McGill he was the unlucky one.
In the 1950’s there was a public morals backlash and Watch Committees were set up in seaside resorts. This led to the 81 year old McGill being prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act of 1857, and several of his cards being destroyed.
These are some of them
They seem somewhat tame by today’s standards. It was enough however to cause confusion to the shop owners selling them and to cause several printers to cease trading.
After a couple of years this “do-gooder” attitude subsided and the illustrators and printers were back in business.
How are postcards faring in today’s “techno” climate?
In a recent survey the broadcaster ITV said that the number of postcards sent has dropped by 75 per cent. It showed that 67 per cent of those surveyed used emails or photos while on holiday, to keep in touch with family and friends.
And Donald McGill?
In 1994 the Royal Mail brought out a set of commemorative stamps featuring McGill's postcards.
More from this author
Amazing Discovery: Answers to the Secrets of Life Uncovered in Postcards
High Jinks on the High Seas
More High Jinks on the High Seas
10 Offbeat, Bizarre and Wacky Facts
Five Mysteries and Surprises in Everyday Domestic Routines
Or for George Orwell's essay
The Art of Donald McGill
