If you don't know, one of my hobbies is to collect rather tacky or strange postcards. Nothing intentional, thank you. American probably has a near monopoly on this but Turkey has its share too. You have to look for them now because they are disappearing fast.
Ah, yes, One of my favorite genres of old Turkish postcards. The soldier postcards. Here are two gallant men in green on a day pass, trying with limited success, to make contact with a person of the opposite gender. The odd posture is perhaps meant to suggest they have been walking and have suddenly, unexpected looked into each other's eyes and found love. Unfortunately it comes across as a merely mild failure of gravity. love those Jackie O glasses. I have a pair actually but mine are white with real diamonds on the frame!
Because of problems with the printing process this postcard came off looking like a 3D attempt. Girls, check out those shoes! And that skirt. I suspect that the soldier's odd pose, hand clutching air, was supposed to allow for a rose to be clumsily superimposed, Either that, or he is challenging her to an arm wrestle. 
Here is the first installment of my Turkish soldier postcard theme. http://nomadicjoe.blogspot.com/2011/03/turkish-soldier-postcards.html
More of these shall be forthcoming.
Love it!
ReplyDeleteThere's an ultimate piece of Turkish tack I want more than anything-- that picture everyone used to have of the sappy little boy with a tear rolling down his face. It gives the dogs playing poker a run for its money!
I didn't find that one but I do have another one in that genre. One which is so tacky and weird and just perplexing... stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any British 'saucy' postcards? They were usually found at British seaside resorts. The double entendre was the basis for the humour.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to a site that has quite a collection on display for you to peruse if you are interested.
http://socyberty.com/history/saucy-seaside-postcards/
Thanks, Jack. It's funny how prudish Americans can be sometimes, considering some of the things you can find on TV and what-not.
ReplyDeleteMost of the American postcards would probably not be quite as "saucy" as the ones you cited. Tacky and campy,yes, certainly. Unintentionally (or rather naively) in poor taste, which, as far as I understand is the essence of camp humor.
Deluxe hotels, supposedly to advertise, which look like torture chambers or crime scenes. Restaurant food photos were, due to the color printing errors, everything looks regurgitated or ominously green. Women who were supposed to be glamorous and provocatively posed, (Va-va-room, sweetheart!) looking like third-rate drag acts.
Or the ones that are desperately trying to be funny but are not, like the postcard with the Great Dane sized jackrabbit or the photo with the mule and some tired play on the word "ass."
Thanks for sharing that link, I loved it, Jack.
Love it! Where can I get those metrosexual sunglasses with diamonds?
ReplyDeleteOh, just saw that you "revealed" yourself on your profile : )
Stranger, that picture has a Wikipedia page with an obvious name: The Crying Boy. It also has some historic significance here. That boy was -- perhaps very appropriately -- on the cover of the first issue of Sizinti.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the other entry Nomad. Murat Belge once wrote something about the popularity of the poster here. (I saw it in an actual book.) I meant to find an online copy for you guys (I know/suspect both Stranger and you can read Turkish) but instead found something more current criticising Belge for overlooking the Sizinti connection back then. Here's the link.
ReplyDelete