Indigenous Museum

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The postcard Century

(Amarin Printing and Publishing, 2000) Tom Phillips ; Thames and Hudson ; HaNaPa Production

Like many artists I have aways collected, or rather amassed, postcards. For quite a lot of my career I have used them as source material for painting. Those I did not use grew into piles and found their way into boxes and drawers, waiting a turn that would never come. About twenty years ago I looked at this accumulation and played with the idea of making a diary with a postcard representing every day of the century. A quick look through the first box or two convinced me of the folly of this since, as I should have guessed, most cards are sent in the holiday months which would have made November or February quite a struggle. The majority of those who attend postcard fairs are collectors of topographical cards, usually of their own locality. Others search out a particular subject. These can be broad categories like Advertising or fields so narrow as to make it unlikely that any new acquisition could be made. One collector might ask for postcards featuring corkscrews, another goats. Once his obsession has become know to the traders he only has to be seen approaching to be told whether they have a newly acquired card, put asise for him, featuring Teddy Bears or Wurlitzers or Snowmen. If not he is hailed with words along the lines of 'Nothing for you today, Ron'.