In the depths of February, summer seems a long way away – so for this week’s cover reveal we’re taking you somewhere sunny. Tom Jackson’s Postcard From The Past, based on the cult Twitter account, is a nostalgic and hilarious collection of real-life messages from the backs of vintage British postcards, and its cover will have you longing for piers, seagulls and ice cream…
When we were on our holidays in the 60s and 70s we sent stacks of sun-bleached postcards back home from leaky caravans in Skegness and dodgy hotels in Weston-super-Mare, complaining about our relatives, divulging the details of summer romances and endlessly musing on the weather. We never thought we’d see them again. Until now…
In Postcard From The Past, collector Tom Jackson gathers together the funniest, strangest and most moving messages he has found in his vast archive of vintage postcards, turning the throwaway scribblings of a generation into a symphony of voices, glimpses into past lives and tantalising hints of stories.
Lovingly written in rainy campsites and over grim hotel breakfasts, on sweltering beaches and in windy seaside car parks, these missives from another era form an off-kilter and laugh-out-loud tribute to the British character.
All our lives on the back of a postcard.
‘Sublimely funny’ Jason Hazeley, author of the Ladybird Books for Grown Ups
‘My favourite Twitter account is now my favourite book. Irresistible!’ Jill Mansell
‘This book is an absolute treat’ Holly Walsh
‘Transfixing, beguiling, warmly haunting. These are the ghosts of a childhood’ Robin Ince
‘A hilarious and occasionally disturbing look at how the British remain resolutely small-minded wherever they go’ Charlie Higson
‘Six by four inch portions of pure heaven’ Rachel Johnson
‘Somehow both poignant and deeply creepy’ Samira Ahmed
‘One of Twitter’s most nourishing concepts – each one arriving like a bonsai Alan Bennett play’ Danny Baker
‘Beautiful. Inspiring. Educational. Hilarious’ Emma Freud
‘One of the saddest and funniest picture books you’re ever likely to read’ Owen Hatherley, author of The Ministry of Nostalgia
‘Hilarious, haunting, silly, poetic and profound’ Danny Wallace
‘A book of rare and genuine beauty’ James O’Brien, LBC
Postcard From The Past by Tom Jackson will be published 1st June 2017.
