Postcards
The Rise and Fall of the World's First Social Network
Published on 18. October 2021
256 pages
978-1-78914-485-7 (ISBN)
Description
Although postcards are usually associated with cheeky seaside tableaus and banal holiday pleasantries, they are made possible by sophisticated industries and institutions, from printers to postal services. When they were invented postcards established what is now taken for granted in modern times: the ability to send and receive messages around the world easily and inexpensively. Fundamentally they are about creating personal connections - connections between people, places and beliefs.
This book examines postcards on a global scale, to understand them as artifacts that are at the intersection of history, science, technology, art and culture. It shows how postcards were the first global social network and also, here in the twenty-first century, how postcards are not yet extinct.
This book examines postcards on a global scale, to understand them as artifacts that are at the intersection of history, science, technology, art and culture. It shows how postcards were the first global social network and also, here in the twenty-first century, how postcards are not yet extinct.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
29,21 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-78914-485-7 (9781789144857)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2021
Reaktion Books
€46.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Lydia Pyne is an affiliate researcher at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Her previous books include Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Can Teach Us About Real Stuff (2019).
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction: Invention and Reinvention
- One: Signed, Stamped, and Delivered
- Two: The Means of Mass Production
- Three: Publicity and Propaganda
- Four: Having a Wonderful Time, Wish You Were Here
- Five: Postcards from Countries That No Longer Exist
- Conclusion: The Afterlives of Postcards
- References
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgments
- Photo Acknowledgments
- Index
