From the late 19th century, postcards became a popular - even fashionable - form of communication. Traditional letter writing, while it had the advantage of confidentiality, gradually gave way to the shorter, pithy message which could be scribbled on a postcard.
In time, postal services universally standardized the format and by reducing rates made the use of postcards affordable. Initially, Germany led the field in the manufacture of postcards, until the First World War of 1914-18, after which British and local presses filled the vacuum.
The introduction of images on the reverse of postcards enhanced their appeal and, in a sense, supplemented visually the content of the message. Topographical views, buildings of interest, topical events, ethnic types, and social subjects became increasingly popular.
Overtaken today by instant electronic communications, postcards have lost their appeal. However, they have become of increasing interest to collectors and historians as a pictorial record of the recent past.
The postcards presented in this volume illustrate provincial capitals – Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta – as well as prominent cities and areas in each province of pre-Pakistan, as they existed before 1947.
They provide a second life to largely forgotten images of a pre-Pakistan past. |
