British Seaside Postcards

Postcard Sent from Skegness 1969 Published by Bamforth

When I think of British seaside postcards, I think of a saucy comic postcard that had some double entendre joke, they were consider quite risqué at the peak of their success, so much though that the British government felt the need to step in and make some changes to what was considered appropriate to send in the mail.

British postcards through the mail started in 1894 when postcard publishers were granted permission by the Royal Mail service to be able to manufacture and post them through the mail.  The first publishers to create these postcards were a printing firm called Stewarts of Edinburgh, these early cards were often images of landmarks, views.  The seaside image was an instant favorite as the locomotive was providing fast affordable travel; many families would take trips to the coastal areas.  This began the start of the souvenir postcard industry that is still going strong today.

It wasn’t until the early 1930’s though that the seaside postcard went into widespread production.  These cards were often saucy and consisted of traditional characters such as a naughty vicar, large ladies and brow beaten husbands.  Seaside cards are credited with being the inspiration for the now famous Carry On movies, which depicted the British lifestyle and reputation then poked innocent fun at the system.

Unfortunately by the 1950’s when a newly elected Conservative government came into power, they showed concern at the British people’s apparent deterioration of morals and took it upon themselves to crack down on the seaside postcard.  Donald McGill who is a well known creator of the seaside postcard images was the first target on the Conservative hit list.  Luckily though they were not able to stamp out the British spirit and by the 1960’s the seaside postcard and its sauciness had returned. 

In later years the quality of the artwork and humor deteriorated which  extended from changing attitudes.  Original British seaside postcards are highly collectible, seaside postcards published by the British company Bamforths, they were based in Holmfirth in West Yorkshire.   Even though the British seaside postcard has had its ups and downs it is still a huge source of tourism income to seaside souvenir shops along with the typical modern seaside postcards that have landscape images and local landmarks along with references to the British weather.

These British seaside postcards are considered collectable art by some and are a reminder of history and serve as documentation of the times.