BRITISH PHONE BOOTH CARDS
( Also known as TART CARDS )
( CLICK HERE for MEMBERS version )
General Post Office (1936-1965), Post Office Telcommunications (1965 -1981), British Telecom (1981-)
The red telephone box is a familiar sight in Britain, they are immediately recognisable as a symbolic piece of street furniture. What is not so well known is that there isn't just a Red Telephone Box design but eight different designs for a national telephone box and their history and development of the telephone box has been continuous for nearly eighty years. It is perhaps surprising to know but in 1924 a national competition, organised by the owners of the public telephone network - the General Post Office - was held to find a design for a new telephone box. It has perhaps difficult to understand such a competition for what is essentially just a box with a payphone in. Another lesser known fact is that while the vast majority of kiosks were painted red there are examples all over the country in colours such as yellow, green and gray ; the city of Hull has its own telephone company with white-painted telephone kiosks.
................ assimilated projects
A telephone box is surely just a utilitarian piece of street furniture? However this is not the case. Such is the appeal of the telephone kiosk, books have been written about the Red Telephone Box, and these kiosks now have a museum of their own - the BT Museum at the Avoncroft Museum of Buildings in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Here examples of all the different kiosks exist, including a mock-up of the rare K5 kiosk.
Originally the nationwide network of public telephone boxes was owned by The General Post Office, but this changed in 1984 when the phone network was privatised to become British Telecom. They soon decided that the red telephone boxes were superfluous, and started introducing a number of new modern designs to represent the newly-privatised company's corporate identity.
However British Telecom had underestimated people's affection for the traditional telephone kiosk. After a the vast majority of kiosks were removed, they slowly and mysteriously began reappearing on streets up and down Britain, a much welcomed volte-face by British Telecom. Many kiosks are also listed by English Heritage, affording them statutory protection. The future existence of all kiosks seems secure, and they will remain a welcome sight.
.............. assimilated projects
If there's one thing the British love, it's their phone sex. I have a staggering collection of these lovely advertisements which are gummed to the insides of every damn phone box in London and will be bringing them to you, two by two, each month. Enjoy.
............... Bomblast
Bad news, folks..
The British government have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to make the distribution in phone booths of cards promoting the services of prostitutes a criminal offence, punishable by a heavy fine or prison or both. As a result, the supply of cards is likely to be substantially reduced or ended altogether. I hereby officially blow a large raspberry at the British government. What a bunch of hypocrites!!
................ Phoneboothmike
People who put sex call cards in phone boxes will face jail sentences of up to six months under new Government proposals.
................ Ananova
Looks like Phone Box Escorts are out of business !
............ Spankoz
But the cards continue to be posted !
............ Spankoz
London Phone Booth Girls
May 1999
One of the standard features of any trip to London is the smorgasbord of " Phone Booth Girls " available in every red street-corner cubicle. This form of marketing has been documented on previous trips , and the practice continues to proliferate . I have categorized the entrepreneuses who were hawking their wares during this trip into the following categories :
But this great British tradition is in danger ! According to a recent story , reprinted below , there are threats to these young businesswomen's livelihoods . Soon, perhaps , the cards of the phone booth girls will only be available in museums .
CRACKDOWN ON TELEPHONE BOX ' TARTCARDS '
By Political Staff, PA News 16 May 99 18:23 BST
A crackdown on prostitutes' calling cards in telephone boxes is to be unveiled this week , the Home Office said today . Its consultation paper will contain plans to prosecute those who leave so-called
" tartcard " advertisements in phone booths .Reports claim the Home Office document will also unveil new powers to enable phone companies to cut the lines of numbers displayed -- a move said to be supported by industry watchdog Oftel .
A Home Office spokeswoman said : " Leaving calling cards in phone boxes is a nuisance . In central London it is a real problem . " It puts off tourists and makes it difficult for people to read public service information . "
But the English Collective of Prostitutes claims the measures will cause " serious " problems for colleagues . " Women have found a way of working without pimps and without being on the street , " said a spokeswoman . " Some women will go back to that rather than go out of business . " It is 10 times more dangerous to work on the street and it is more of a public nuisance " , the spokeswoman told The Observer .
BT tried to outlaw the phone box adverts three years ago , but the collective challenged the decision and the Office of Fair Trading found the action in breach of competition laws .
Only one in 20 sex card numbers is a BT line , following the company's policy to block incoming calls , but to allow outgoing ones . An estimated 13 million cards are placed in 1,000 London phone boxes each year .
........... Corkscrew - Balloon
Ephemera
by Pamela Apkarian-Russell
Beryl Cook is one of my favorite contemporary artists. Her buxom , large middle aged Jewish-English women in their bright , tight-fitting clothing , zany hairdos , living their alternative life styles are cheerful and often eye opening . In one of her recent books one of her paintings depicts a largesse lady in a telephone booth which is plastered with the calling cards which prostitutes have placed there to advertise their services. Beryl Cook confesses to collecting them . She is not alone . Our friend in England , Teddy , a petite lady in her late seventies is always out picking up these bits of pop culture both for herself and her friends .
As long as our nation is in a " beat our breasts " and " Morning Becomes Electra " type of soap opera mood , I thought why not introduce these European bits of ephemera to those who are not already picking them up and collecting them . Now the British government tried to get the guys who load up these Kiosks under the littering law , but they were ruled against by the Appeal court .
Cyclers make about $160 a day going from phone booth to phone booth filling them up, with the majority of people taking them not availing them- selves of the services but just collecting the cards . Teddy said these chaps who deliver them are quite nice and always give her the cards she doesn't have and not just because she is a senior citizen but because they are very accommodating young men and women doing a job .
Prostitution is not illegal in Britain as most of Europe is much more sensible and less puritanical than we are . Some of these cards are poorly made , but others are very classily done . The best of these cards we have seen seem to be from Japan where telephone cards give you just enough time to call the girl and leave your number so she can return your call . They are on plastic and are very collectible , where the paper ones are still virtually free .
A short comment on phone card collecting The market in Europe has become soft but is still more active than here in the states . One of the reasons is that phone cards in any country can be used anywhere within that country . Phone cards in the states can be non- functional even outside of the store they are purchased from . The number of different phone companies make phone cards here in the states a frustrating commodity . I know... I have some I'm still looking for a phone booth to use in The US post office ones seem to be the best of the lot .
As for the calling cards of the girls and boys who make their living in the world's oldest profession ; they are legitimate businesses which is proved by the fact they pay taxes and take Visa , MasterCard and American Express ! There are those who will highly disapprove of these cards and the collectors of them , but will themselves have poured over the Ken Starr report , which to me is porno and not a historical or government document. If it was the latter , the US Government printing office would have printed it , and the creative copyright which belongs to the government would be making the money instead of all types of others who , I think , are usurping the copyright that belongs to " we the people " . If this article meets with disapproval , then you should be horrified at the Starr report . Will the Starr report ever become collectible ? I hope not , but I think it will .
Back to Beryl Cook and the call persons . These are neat bits of social commentary and can be quite amusing . There is a whit and whimsy about some of these cards that fascinate many . Looking at the box full of them that Teddy has given us and yes , we've nipped into some of those Kiosks in London ourselves , and chosen a few to add to the box . The thing that I find so interesting about these cards is that they make no pretenses of being anything but what they are . The British above all have a sense of humor which accepts much in a very healthy way . I think the Charlie Chaplin take-off is wonderful . These cards , after all , are much more interesting that collecting cards advertising plumbers , CPA's or even antiques dealers . Europe's attitude to Sex has always been so much more relaxed and healthy than ours , which has been dictated to by the puritanical . Guess that's why we are the laughing stocks of Europe at the moment with the Starr-Lewinsky soap opera .
How about a card that says " Monica , a naughty Sex Kitten guarantees to give pleasure to even the most repressed Starr ". Sorry I couldn't resist that .
Check out the works of Beryl Cook . She is a marvellous artist and her prints and paintings sell for high prices , but her telephone cards are only about $10 each .
PS - I just had to include the following little " tidbit " which is floating around the internet and being forwarded in email from person to person :
" Public media should not contain explicit or implied descriptions of sex acts . Our society should be purged of the perverts who provide the media with pornographic material while pretending it has some redeeming social value under the public's ' right to know . "
- allegedly Kenneth Starr , 1987 , " Sixty Minutes " interview with Dianne Sawyer .
About the author
: If you have questions or need an appraisal , Pam can be
contacted at halloweenqueen@cheshire.net or by calling 603-239-8875 . She has an
antique shop specializing in postcards , ephemera and holiday items , and is
always interested in purchasing items for her shop on Route 10 in Winchester ,
N.H. , USA or for her private collection . An author of four books , and publisher of
the Trick or Treat Trader , she writes for magazines and newspapers
internationally .
......... 1998 , Unravel the Gavel
.......... BBC NEWS
English
red telephone box / booth and K6 spare parts supplied.
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( From Phoneboothmike's and other collections . )
TART CARDS
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Excerpt :
CARDS
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