Wish You Were Here: 151 Years of the British Postcard

This is a past exhibition. See events coming up at The Postal Museum.

Wish You Were Here celebrates the iconic role the postcard has played in connecting people for over 150 years.

The British postcard’s history began in 1870. An innovation of its time, the postcard meant faster, cheaper correspondence through the post. They were used to send secret messages of love, to boost morale for soldiers at war and to boast from holidays near and afar.

Visitors can explore the postcard through history and reflect on its future with themes including romance, First World War correspondence, the Great British seaside, postcards in a digital age and contemporary art, with work from artists including Emily May, Francesca Colussi Cramer and Guy Atkins.

Every visitor to the exhibition can take away their own artwork in miniature. Artist Peter Liversidge, known for his postal inspired artworks, has created 4 unique postcard designs for the exhibition. Visitors can select a postcard to send, keep, or contemplate the thought-provoking ideas printed on the cards.