The United Kingdom's final remaining postcard business is sounding the alarm over the decline of a once-ubiquitous tradition. Graeme Wolford of Hastings-based Judges, the country's last surviving postcard printer, noted that industry sales have fallen from approximately 12 million cards annually in the 1960s and 1970s to around 3 million in recent years. A survey in June indicated that more than half of Britons report never sending postcards.
Despite the overall downturn, Wolford observed a "striking evolution" in the postcard market, with cards increasingly becoming "more of a collector's item, transforming into a mini art form." He also noted a seasonal demand, with higher sales in the summer and a particular increase in demand for nostalgic seaside designs.
English Heritage has recently acquired a collection of 800 historical postcards of Dover Castle. These were amassed over decades by Pat Cunningham, the site's former head custodian, who purchased them online and from antique shops between 1988 and 2010. A selection of these postcards will be exhibited at the Kent attraction starting July 18. Grace Parsonage, English Heritage's assistant curator for the South East, described the collection as a "remarkable" trove of messages from the past, which the organization is working with volunteers to record and transcribe.
Illustrator Sir Quentin, known for his work with Roald Dahl, has created new postcards hoping to encourage their use. "In the days of knights in armour they didn't have postcards, so I do hope children enjoy mine and send him on to someone special," he commented.
