- Home
- Replacement Artwork,logos,etc Available
- The Allwin Arcade
- Trade Stimulators
- The Strange & Unusual
- The Aristocrat Collection
- The Bally Collection
- The Bell-Fruit collection
- The BDR/BMR Collection
- The Bryans Collection
- The Buckley collection
- Caille Brothers Collection
- Working Models
- The Groetchen collection
- The Hawtin's Collection
- The Jamieson's Collection
- The Jennings collection
- The Mills Collection
- The NSM (Bingen) Collection
- The Oliver Whales Collection
- The Pace Collection
- The Parkers Collection
- The Rock-ola collection(slot machines)
- The Ruffler & Walker Collection
- The SEGA Collection
- the Shefras collection
- The TH.Bergmann Collection
- The Tom Boland collection
- The Watling collection
- The Whittaker Bros Collection
- the Wondermatics collection
- The Wulff Collection
- The Juke Box Age
- Coin Operated Cranes & Diggers
- Coin Operated Shooting Games
- Coin Operated Weight Scales
- slot machine coins & tokens for sale
- Amusement Arcades from the Past
- The British Seaside Pleasure Pier
- The Market Place
- Coin Operated Related Seaside Postcards
- See a Selection of the More Complex Machines at Work
- Stuart Dale's Imperator Rebuild
- Stuart Dale's Steam Shovel Project
- The "Allwin" Machine
- Useful Links
- The Rye Heritage Ctr Collection of Working Models
- Williamson's Vintage amusement arcades
- Contact Us
This instantly recognisable style of picture-postcard developed at the start of the 20th century, reaching its height in the early 1950's. The joke almost always relies on a double meaning or play on words.
By far the best and most famous designer of these cards was Donald McGill (1875-1962)
From his first design in 1906 till his death in 1962 he produced over 12,000 designs, the most successful selling over 6 million copies, yet he received no royalties and was never paid more than 3 guineas per design. During a government clampdown on morals in the 1950's (the government claimed the second world war had reduced moral standards) McGill was arrested and charged with producing obscene publications. This led to a major trial where the now almost 80-year-old McGill made the prosecution look fools( a view also widely accepted by the general public at the time), none the less he was found guilty and fined £50 with £25 costs. Four of his designs were banned(two can be seen to the left) and 17 were withdrawn from sale(all have since been republished). The wider effect of the case caused many companies to go broke and the genre never fully recovered.
McGill died all most penny less in 1962 at the age of 87(having just completed his 1963 designs ) and was buried in an unmarked grave in Streatham Cemetery. South London.
A few of the cards shown here are McGills designs
WHAT DID THE BUTLER SEE ??
ONE AT A TIME PLEASE !!