The Postcard - another tradition dying out

UK's oldest postcard firm set to close

When was the last time you sent a postcard?

If the pronouncement of UK publisher J Salmon is anything to go by it's likely to have been a long time ago.

The family-owned firm, which has been publishing postcards and calendars since 1880, will close this December.

The reason? It says instead of penning a card, people are putting photos up on Facebook or Instagram or using WhatsApp to show friends and family at home just how much fun they're having.

Brothers Charles and Harry Salmon, the fifth generation of the family to run the firm, said the popularity of social media had had a huge impact on the business.

People are also tending to take shorter holidays, meaning they are likely to have arrived home long before their postcards, the brothers - joint managing directors of the firm - said.

As a result the business was no longer viable, they said.

"Increasingly challenging trading conditions and changes to the nature and size of the market for its publications have resulted in uncertainty over the viability of its trade," the brothers wrote in a letter to suppliers and newsagents.

As a result they were announcing "a proposal to withdraw from publishing".

The number of postcards sold each year is reported to have seen a dramatic slump to about five million from 20 million just 25 years ago.

Jordan Girardin, a travel historian and lecturer, said when postcards were first invented in the late 19th century "there was a need for a more visual experience, a more visible promotion of travel".

"The cheap postcard that we use just to send a message has been replaced by social media I'm afraid," he said.

J Salmon, which originally started out as a stationer's shop and general printing business, has always printed its products in Sevenoaks in Kent.

But the firm said that as well as the drop in the number of postcards sent, "we have also had to consider that there are no more members of the family who wish to join the business".


Comments

José said…
Hi Graham,



The postcard is part of my culture of travel. It was unavoidable to go away and send a postcard to family and friends. Sometimes, it was useful because you didn’t have much time and you can send a message immediately. This tradition is a dying out but I’m sorry. Social media has slumped postcards, calendars, agendas and so on.



Now all are in computers, tablets and mobiles pone, but in the future everything will be established in our brain like a new organ. As a result we will consult cybernetic implant before we take our decisions. It will be our six sense. Sometime we will have to go to “ciberdoctor” to pass the revision like a dentist.



I remember that once I sent a postcard to my friend and he received it when we are in the new school year, after a month. But the fault was of the post that, then, was very slowly. I think that the first postcard that I saw was the statue of Cibeles in Madrid. As well as, it’s possible that the first postcard that I sent was the beach of Sardinero from Santander.



See you.
Graham said…
Hi José,

How are you doing?

I've had a tough week. It involves a prison warden. You can imagine how the story goes. Who knows how it will end?

I think it's such a pity that people don't write postcards anymore. As usual, I refuse to join the flock and I will continue to send them whenever I go on holiday.



The postcard is part of my travel habits. It was unavoidable to go away and not send a postcard to family and friends. Sometimes, it was useful because you didn’t have much time and you could send a message immediately. This tradition is dying out and I’m sorry. Social media has meant a slump in the sale of postcards, calendars, agendas and so on.

Now everything is in the computer, tablet and mobile phone, but in the future everything will be established in our brain like a new organ. As a result, we will consult a cybernetic implant before we take our decisions. It will be our sixth sense. Sometimes we will have to go to a “ciberdoctor" to have a check-up, like at the dentist's.

I remember that once I sent a postcard to my friend and he received it when we were in the new school year, after a month. But it was the post's fault that, then, it was very slow. I think that the first postcard that I saw was the statue of Cibeles in Madrid. not only that, it’s possible that the first postcard that I sent was the beach of Sardinero from Santander.

See you tomorrow!
Carmen de la Mota said…
Hi Graham,

To be honest I don´t usually write postcards. It is not because I don´t like them but because of the time they take to reach their destiny. I guess I am not used to the fact that they won´t be in the addressee´s hands at the exact moment in which I throw it to the mailbox.

Nowadays people demand more and more this sense of immediacy. Cell phones, computers,and all the new devices ,that have been developed in the past ten years, offer us this advantage which is almost essential in current life. However I don´t agree with this being the best way of communicating. I think we lose the essence of handwriting which provides a feeling of being closer to the other person. Moreover, it takes more time to write a poscard since you have to first buy it and then write it before you send it. In this way, spending time on it means that you care about the other person.

The last time I wrote a poscard was two years ago. I was spending one month at a camp in the US and they offered me the possibility of writing a poscard to my parents. And that´s what I did. Sending letters and poscards is actually something I have only done at camps, or at least, with camp friends, as far as I can remember. I guess the lack of habit is why I haven´t done it in a different situation.

Anyway, I wish we never lose this tradition because I really enjoy and appreciate it.

See you.
Graham said…
Hi Carmen,

I reckon we won't be sending postcards in a few years' time; which is a pity. When I was your age, I sent a postcard home from everywhere I visited on my Interrail.




To be honest I don´t usually write postcards. It is not because I don´t like them but because of the time they take to reach their destination. I guess I am not used to the fact that they won´t be in the addressee´s hands at the exact moment in which I pop it in the mailbox.

Nowadays people demand this sense of immediacy more and more. Cell phones, computers and all the new devices that have been developed in the past ten years, offer us this advantage which is almost essential in current life. ... This way, spending time on it means that you care about the other person.

Anyway, I hope we never lose this tradition because I really enjoy and appreciate it.


What's the difference between wish and hope?