Today's Read

A lovely sunny day - but bitterly cold.  I went outside with the intention of doing a few jobs, but decided the day would be better with me inside and looking out.
I went to the 'Book Pile' and chose this weighty tome.
It illustrates - by year - a selection of postcards from 1900 to 1999. Most interestingly the author also gives you the message that is written on the card.
In the late 19th Century and early 20th the postcard was like the modern telephone.  In cities - and especially London - they had between six and twelve mail deliveries per day, allowing correspondents to exchange multiple letters within a single day.
Postcards are used for many reasons, the most popular being the 'wish you were here' holiday type which spawned the saucy seaside postcard.  Other - more serious subjects such as aviation, transport, fashion and architecture were incorporated into the 'postcard world'.
I don't think there will ever be a sequel to this book - I can't imagine anyone sending such a physical object as a postcard in 2099.....