Obscene postcards? You be the judge

An exhibition of seaside postcards that were banned by local councils in the 1950s opens in Margate this week. I Wish I Could See My Little Willy named after a postcard by Bob Wilkin, above, enraged the authorities in the prudish post war years. The show is being held at the Pie Factory gallery, opposite […]

Cartoon coasts along for 30 years

Cartoons are inextricably linked to the seaside, so it was no surprise that when the new series of BBC Two’s Coast headed to Margate for a piece on the heyday of seaside landladies, they chose to illustrate that with a cartoon postcard. Being very well looked after, detail above, by Rupert Besley, a member of […]

Saucy McGill continues to amuse

That saucy old salt Donald McGill continues to cause a stir, nearly 50 years after his death. For the first time, the full collection of 21 postcards which were banned after an Obscene Publications Act witch-hunt in 1953, have gone on display. They can be seen in the perfectly appropriate seaside surroundings of the recently […]