The Edwardian Postcard
Summary: The early British postcard is a fascinating multimodal communications technology. In the heyday of the postcard during the Edwardian age, (1901-1910) it offered an opportunity for rapid vernacular writing at very low cost that was not to be available again until the contemporary digital revolution. Up to six deliveries a day were being made in major cities and 6 billion cards were sent in the period. We have collected over 1,200 cards from the period to examine the creative responses of the population to this new technology. Apart from the light shed on writing practices of the Edwardians, our studies are revealing much about the travel patterns, social networks and concerns of the age. We are also investigating the mobilities of the postcard today, through collecting cards ourselves, interviewing and photographing at postcard fairs, and reviews of secondary sources. In Autumn 2009 we are using Twitter to resend some of the Edwardian messages - follow eVIIpc or search for tag #eVIIpc. For more information, visit the project website - link just below.
Key Facts
Website: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/EVIIpc/
Funder: Friends Programme of Lancaster University
Type of Activity: Academic Research - Other
Principal Investigator: Julia Gillen
Dept/Research Groups: Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe), Lancaster Literacy Research Centre, Linguistics and English Language
Partner: Manchester Metropolitan University
Keywords: Material culture, Literacies, Literacy, Literacy practices, communication, Popular culture, Twentieth century history, Twentieth-century popular culture, Mobilities
Card sent in Lockerbie 1902
Our Partners
Manchester Metropolitan University
Purpose of Research
Academic Research - Other
Project Funder
Friends Programme of Lancaster University - £2808.75
In April 2010 the Edwardian Postcard Project was awarded a grant by the Friends Programme Disbursement Committee.
The grant contributed to: 1) the Postcard Fair held at Lancaster University on November 13th, 2010, including promotional posters and flyers. 2) the production of a digital exhibit displayed at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery 3) the production of a small exhibit about the work of the project shown at the Fair and then in the foyer of Lancaster University Library 4) access to the censuses of 1901 and 1911 and other public records to aid the project's research.