Donald McGill obscene seaside postcards banned 50 years ago go on sale for 1st time
Saucy seaside postcards banned more than 50 years ago for obscenity go on sale for the first time
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Saucy seaside postcards which were banned from resorts around the UK more than 50 years ago have gone on sale for the first time since they were censored.
Five of the 'obscene' comic cards by prolific artist Donald McGill can now be bought - 56 years after the designs were destroyed because of their bawdy humour.
McGill, who was dubbed the King Of The Seaside Postcard, designed saucy classics from 1904 until 1962. His images featured fat old ladies, drunken middle-aged men, honeymooning couples and prudish vicars.
Salty humour: One of the five McGill postcards that was banned in 1954
He produced 12,000 designs over his prolific career and more than 200million of his cards were sold.
But in 1954, during a morality campaign at seaside resorts across the UK, he was charged with publishing obscene images and 21 of his cards were banned.
Now a museum in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, which houses the largest collection of McGill's work in the world, has re-printed five of the banned cards for the first time in nearly six decades.
'It is very exciting to be able to sell these banned cards once again,' said James Bissell-Thomas, owner of the Donald McGill Postcard Museum.
'Donald McGill's artwork is a requisite part of our heritage.
Subtle? Fans of McGill say his humour passes the test of time
'The 56-year gap serves us well for launching his work into the public eye once more and a whole new generation can appreciate his cunning eye once again.'
McGill began his career by accident when, in 1904 at the age of 30, he sent a cartoon to a hospitalised nephew showing a man up to his neck in a frozen pond.
The caption read 'Hope you get out!' and was forwarded to a publisher who commissioned his work.
He quickly became an expert in the art of the postcard double entendre and his variations on a theme were ingenious, humorous and often downright rude.
Bawdy: McGill's postcards were always loaded with innuendo
In 1941 he was singled out by George Orwell as 'the most prolific and by far the best of contemporary postcard artists'.
But in 1953 he faced obscenity charges over his cards following an orchestrated clean-up around the country.
An Isle of Wight vicar complained to his local paper and the police raided five seaside shops, confiscating more than 5,000 cards.
Too much: Like the four other cards shown here, censors found this postcard too suggestive for public display
Other raids took place across the UK and thousands of McGill's cards were ordered to be destroyed under the 1857 Obscene Publications Act.
The following year a show trial was held in Lincoln where the artist, then aged 79, was persuaded to plead guilty on four cards which were immediately banned.
McGill and his publishers also agreed not to republish another 17 cards once existing stocks had been sold.
Suggestive: McGill's characters didn't have to be in a state of undress for the censors to get offended
The ruling cost McGill thousands of pounds in lost revenue.
The postcard industry died out in Britain around 40 years ago as more people began to holiday abroad. The last McGill cards were printed in the 1970s.
Although the ban on McGill's cards has never been revoked, the museum believes it is highly unlikely their publication would be challenged today.
Prolific: Artist Donald McGill designed 12,000 postcards during a career spanning almost 60 years
'The majority of these "obscene" cards were actually really quite innocent and it seemed to be a bit of a witch hunt,' said Mr James.
'Many of the images had been on display in the 1930s and 1940s and they were suddenly seen as a threat to society. It has to be the worst example of a nanny state curtailing the lives of the public.
'It's fantastic that McGill's cards can now be bought and sent by holidaymakers once again.'
The banned cards form part of a collection of 50 of McGill's designs that the museum has now re-published as greetings cards.
Mr James added: 'We are also republishing other cards by McGill which were not banned as they are not only clever and very funny but clearly pass the test of time.'
At the height of his fame McGill earned only three guineas a design, but today his postcards are highly sought after with his original artwork going for up to £1,700 in auction and up to £2,500 in London Galleries.
Last year the Tate displayed some of McGill's artwork, which would have pleased the artist as he always felt that he should have done more with his talent.
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