A New Medium for Advertising: The Postcard, 1900-1920
David M. WilliamsUniversity of Leicester
At first glance, the medium in question, the postcard, would appear atrivial and inconsequential item. In reality, in the opening decades of the twentieth century, the postcard featured prominently in everyday life and it came to be used as a significant instrument to generate publicity and to influence consumer choice. This article looks, first, at the postcard and demonstrates its importance in its time; it then reviews the varied use of the postcard by advertisers, in particular, the timing and forms of postcard advertising and...