THE CULT OF THE POST CARD

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13614, 24 December 1909, Page 11

THE CULT OF THE POST CARD

QUEER DEVELOPMENTS OF THE . TRADE. (SPKCIALLT WmiTZX FOR "THE I-tESS.' ) Somebody said in his baste that tho l.eauty spots of Christchurch were not sufficiently postcarded, and the -writer went out to ask why. Tlie assertion waa not borne out by facts, however, for charming camera-smiles setting forth the city's attractions abounded on every side. There were two cla-sses of Christchurch postcards—those with tho Cathedral and those without. Those without were mostly dusted with swans and willows; but all were artistically got up, and. could be had for a pe' inv plain and. twopence coloured. They como out in series, these 6cenic photographs, and at regular intervals tho different publishing firms issue new editions covering a rango of from thirty to forty different fresh subjects. A gTeat many aro printed in Bavaria, and some (it is whispered) in Japan, for cheapness; but the better class work is always British.

At one of the largest emporiums one ■was bombarded with a broadside of interesting facts. The cult of tho postcard is no longer a craze—it has settled down into a fixed habit. Not so many postcards have been sold during th© past season as in years gone by, for the reason that collecting, as a hobby, has practically ceased. The collector was cuTed of his ailment by the individual who sought to pander to his appetite. But he overdid it, and the collector laid him down and died. So only the postcard' sender counts nowadays. It is impossible to make an intelligible or coherent collection, for not only is everything that the sophisticated eye of tho camera is capable of winking at offered in postcard form, but works of art are reproduced with a pennyworth of fidelity, verses of popular songs are more or less crudely illustrated, troublous scenes .from everyday life are vividly depicted, while love's young dream is rendered in nightmare form. Tho odious wit of the old-time "ugly" valentine is finding a new sphere of activity on postcards, and: this type of popular unpleasantry is all the more objectionable from the fact that the crass jesting is sent through th© post open to the view of everybody. And then -there is the reprehensibly suggestive postcard—a pestiferous mode of salutation which approaches perilously .closely to. the border-line of indecency. Not many establishments handle this sort of garbage, thanks ho! but the fact that it is to be obtained at all is somewhat of a reproach to the morals of the community.

But our trader waits. He is saying that the postcard-selling business is very much cut up nowadays. No little fancy goods shop is complete without a few actresses hanging "by the yellow hair, or a geyser or two, with their busy spoutings rooted to the murky spot. A curious thing, he'said, women were the principal customers for -ctress photographs. Postcards had almost completely ousted the conventional Chr_s*iruw"C-_|ds. This year nearly all tbe Christmas i cards were got up in Eostcard form. There were literally undreda of. designs, from the simple heartfelt message displaying golden thoughts for en outlay of a penny, to gorgeous contraptions fitted! -with setting suns and rising moons at two-and-_ix. Some had large and rare exotics hand-painted upon them, the blossoms loudly fragrant with the perfume so dearly beloved, of the pink blouse and black skirt damsel, who lends effulgence to the suburban dancing assembly, where the gents wear gloves and the ladies ax© "as usual." Most of the scenio postcards are sent out of the country and many people make a point of purchasing every new phase of the city's beauty spots that is available, for the delectation cf friends in the Homeland. Our trader is-of opinion that postcards have done more to advertise the natural attractions and resources of New Zealand than any other means that hare yet been employed. He believes, further, that the standard of the better-class reproductions is rapidly becoming higher as larger firms are attracted to cater specially for the business, but on the other band he contends that unless something is done to stem the torrent of scurrilous and nearly-indecent rubbish, the trade will become so demoralised' that good shops will have none of it. "I couldn't esk my girls to handle some of the stuff that is selling like hot cakes in the city to-day," he declared—"l couldn't do% for shame. That's what is going to kill the business, and I don't wonder at it."

And after seeing some of the trash flaunted on the street front, the writer did not wonder at it, either.