Literacy Practices and Skills in the Early 20th-Century UK: The Picture Postcard as Social Media

• In Event: Documenting History of Education: Methods, Narratives, and Stories

Abstract

The picture postcard was a revolutionary means of communication in early twentieth century UK. For the first time, it was possible to combine a short message with an attractive image and send it fast, at little expense. Such an opportunity was not to reoccur until the digital revolution. Three thousand postcards, sent between 1902-1910 have been collected, transcribed and openly digitized. Effectively the social media of its age, picture postcards enable the study of multimodal writing practices and skills. Findings demonstrate how postcard use ballooned, that they were used more by women, yet by people from almost all social classes. Literacy skills were high. Postcard writers drew on letter-writing conventions and interspersed postcards with letters, keeping constantly in communication.

Author

• Julia Gillen, Lancaster University