The Art of Humour Postcards

Almost as soon as pictures started appearing on postcards towards the end of the Victorian era, humour has featured extensively. In fact amongst the myriad types of postcards, the comic or humour postcard is perhaps the most widely collected. The range of them is immense. They start with the satirical - almost cynical end and finish up with those offering the richest of belly laughs. Perhaps the master of the saucy seaside postcard is Donald McGill. Born in 1875 McGill was originally a naval draughtsman until in 1904 after drawing a get-well card for a sick nephew, he was persuaded to take his artwork more seriously. Within twelve months he was making his living from producing comic postcards.

McGill was feted by George Orwell who published an essay, 'The Art of Donald McGill' - although the novelist did confess that he wasn't quite sure if McGill was an artist or a trademark! McGill's designs were always eye-catching, with bright, bold colours and his humour was always graded by vulgarity into soft, medium and strong - the more vulgar, the better his cards sold. Of course not everybody was a fan - the MacMillan purge of the 1950's seemed to spell the end for McGill's career. Poor Donald never did have it quite as good again, he died in 1962. It's just a shame that he couldn't have waited for a few more months in order to witness the Profumo Affair unfold.

Read more about humour postcards and many other types of postcard at www.postcardmania.co.uk.