Boring Postcards (Paperback)

~ Martin Parr (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Individually, the cards are a kitsch hoot; collectively, they re-create not only the appearance but the spirit and soul of a Britain that vanished for ever somewhere around the 1970s.... Parr's 'boring postcards' give meaning to a wistful phrase much beloved of recent prime ministers. They show the last time Britain really was, for better or worse, a nation at ease with itself. Look back and mourn." The Sunday Times "Martin Parr's daringly dull collection of 160 coma-inducing postcards from the edge of common sense. Yes, they're funny. But they also reveal a view of the UK in the period from the '50s to the '70s, when road-building and fast development looked like signs of a healthy future." Time Out "Individually each of the postcards more than meet the requirements of the book's title - yes, these are ludicrously boring places - but as whole they make a compelling collection." Dazed & Confused "... far from dull, Parr's book is a strangely compelling commentary on postwar British architecture, social life and identity..." Independent on Sunday "... Groovy, baby." Time "... exquisitely tedious... visual gems..." World of Interiors "... the funniest book [of the year] has been Boring Postcards by Martin Parr, which I keep on the kitchen table and chortle over during breakfast. This sends my cornflakes flying...." Charlotte Cory (novelist), The Independent "... top of the class... Its blend of pathos and bathos is hilarious. It fills the onlooker with Christmas spirit: that's to say, nostalgia, revulsion, hysteria and delight." Evening Standard"

Product Description

160 boring postcards of the British Isles, reproduced as they have been found, actual size, from the collection of the great iconoclast of British photography, Martin Parr. This is a serious art book, a depiction of a tragic Britain with tragic taste, and a photographic entertainment which a large audience will enjoy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714843903
• ISBN-13: 978-0714843902
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #329,338 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #58 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Travel > Great Britain
  #71 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Professional

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Campy... , July 23, 2007

By	Otter - See all my reviews

This coffee-table book of boring postcards is a collection of the tackiest and most boring postcards imaginable. It is wonderfully campy and sure to provide a good laugh.

By the way, I read the previous "1-Star" review, and it is hard to believe that any person with an ounce of common sense would think they are actually buying a book of real postcards that they could tear out and mail to friends!

5.0 out of 5 stars British Postal Banality, May 14, 2009

By	Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This collection of utterly horrendous postcards is a delightful window into our past and what people valued in days gone by. Certainly in retrospect it is hard to grasp what on earth the people who made these postcards, and more importantly the people who bought and sent them were thinking, but at the time they all made sense to somebody.

Most of these cards are from 1960's and 1970's Britain; I recommend the companion volume "Boring Postcards USA" for a similar look at US postal proclivities in the same eras. Some of the themes of the book are over-represented (highway interchanges chief among them), but I found the postcards of motels, campgrounds, and public areas to be charming though horrifying.

Among my favorite cards in this volume are such greats as "NUL. 30F. M.6. Motorway. Newcastle-under-Lyme.", "Interior of the Mersey Tunnel, Liverpool", "The Drive In Bottle Shop, Northampton", "The Butts Shopping Center, Reading", "Farnham Post Office", "Canteen, Stoke Mandeville Hospital" (a truly ghastly realm of colors), "National Giro Centre, Bootle" (an amazingly postcard that has actually been postmarked!), "A corner of the Moota Motel, Cockermouth", "The Garreg Goch Caravan Park, Morfa Bychan" (the saddest trailer court I have ever seen), and perhaps my favorite of all, "Rain Clouds, from Southend Pier", a bad photo of some clouds in beautiful black and white.

Truly, this is a great collection that simultaneously made me amused and sentimental. I only wish that I could detach and send these postcards, as I know several people who would be delighted to get a card of "Turbine Hall, CEGB Wylfa Nuclear Power Station, Anglesey."