A series of various “comedy” postcards commercially available in their day. Cleary some of them convey sexist views and other racist and sexist attitudes. The postcards are here as historical archive reference items.
“Racism is abhorrent and has no place in society: the issue of blackface performance in Britain is a troubling and controversial subject, yet it has undeniably been a significant element of British popular culture for over 150 years. Although blackface performance is less common in contemporary mainstream contexts, the impact and resonance of the form reverberates throughout our popular music and comedy. In order to address historical, systemic racism, racist images should not be deleted or hidden, but instead exposed, contextualised and analysed as part of the necessary process of change: the images and references to blackface performance contained in this archive provide evidence for these critical discussions. Our aim is not to justify or resurrect the form, but rather to see how its content, structures and context informs mainstream perceptions of British national identity.”
Dr. Tony Lidington and Seaside Follies.
