Why do seaside postcards have such an enduring appeal?
It didn’t take long for publishers to discover what really made the British public tick. In 1894, the Post Office granted permission for the manufacture of picture postcards. The earliest efforts were suitably tame, featuring panoramic views of Blackpool’s Illuminations, Scarborough’s coastline and the harbour at Whitby, but holidaymakers just weren’t satisfied with landscapes. When it came to sending greetings to their friends and family, they wanted something a little more risqué and when postcards appeared featuring overweight landladies, busty sunbathers and men of the cloth caught in compromising situations they just couldn’t get enough.
