A New Medium for Advertising: The Postcard, 1900-1920

A feature of the history of advertising has been the readiness of advertisers to seize on and utilise any new medium which could serve to present a persuasive message.

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...

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