Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Donald McGill's Postcard Art

Donald McGill was a gag writer and illustrator of comic-picture postcards in Britain in the mid-20th century. Each card had a slightly outrageous joke or double entendre.


George Orwell, author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, wrote about McGill's art:
"A comic post card is simply an illustration to a joke, invariably a ‘low’ joke, and it stands or falls by its ability to raise a laugh. Beyond that it has only ‘ideological’ interest. McGill is a clever draughtsman with a real caricaturist's touch in the drawing of faces, but the special value of his post cards is that they are so completely typical. They represent, as it were, the norm of the comic post card. Without being in the least imitative, they are exactly what comic post cards have been any time these last forty years, and from them the meaning and purpose of the whole genre can be inferred."

----


Read the rest of the essay "The Art of Donald McGill," available online in full.
It is also included in the essay collection All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays
at

2 comments:

  1. pakescorts646July 16, 2018 at 5:27 AM

    The Genuine service provider  will give you more satisfaction and they provide fun and Entertainment You just need to call us and you will find the best Escorts in Karachi these superior models are Upper Class Profiles Girls they will give you real Pleasure then no any other karachi Escorts  can give you call us for more information about our service in Karachi DHA Defense.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tanvir AhmedJuly 16, 2018 at 8:56 AM

    postcard printing

    ReplyDelete

Due to a high level of spam we must moderate comments. Please identify yourself by name or social media handle so we know you're not a 'bot.'