The postcard craze of the 1900s at the Museum of Fine
Arts
by Marc Foster
The Postcard Age: Selections From the
Leonard A. Lauder Collection exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, showcases many of the postcards
available in the postcard craze of the 1900s. Many of the postcard designs were
from around the world because at that time the easiest form of communication
was by mail. In a small section of the exhibition there is a set of postcards
that are taken from the 1930s. These postcards focus on the advertisement of
travel in that era. The photographs use minimalist features and use color to
accent the people and mood of the postcard. These postcards gives the viewer a
sense of the time period, and helps to reflect how advertising as evolved.
The
postcards show one or two people holding bags and suitcases with the mode of
transportation behind them. The people in the photographs are drawn being
happy, serious, or content depending on what type of message the advertiser is
trying to send.
In one postcard a female stands in
front of a car in a pink dress smiling and laughing. While, in another postcard
a man stands holding pink briefcases and looking serious in front of a train.
These two postcards showed the goal of advertisers, which is to get people to
use their product no matter what. The pink was used in both drawings to show
that these people will be relaxed during their travel, as pink is a very
calming color.
However the two postcards have very
different audiences. The women speaks to people who want to have a good time,
while the man speaks to business men who want to travel fast and smooth. These
two meanings show that advertisers were not necessarily telling the truth but using
artistic techniques to get people to use their product.
The placing
of these pieces, in the gallery of postcards, accentuated the meaning of the
pieces to the viewer. The viewer was able to see how advertising was used in
the 1900s and how it has affected our current times. I would highly recommend a
visit to The Postcard Age to see the
evolution of human travel and advertising.
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