Tart card

Tart cards in a British phone box advertising the services of call girls.

Tart cards are cards advertising the services of prostitutes. They are found in many countries, usually in capital cities or red-light districts. The cards originated in the 1960s as handwritten postcards outside prostitutes' flats in places such as Soho, London, where they often contained euphemistic references to sex. By the late 1980s they had become black-and-white photocopied cards containing printed text and telephone numbers.[1] In later years they appeared in colour and included photographs and mobile telephone numbers or websites.[2] Over time they have become regarded as items of 'accidental art' and developed a cult following. They have influenced the work of mainstream artists, inspiring collections, research,[3] exhibitions[4][5] and books.

Tart cards by country

Illegal prostitute advertisements in a telephone booth in Brazil


Pimp's business card from China

References

  1. "17 Boxes of Smut From The Euston Road". Londonist. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  2. Russell Dornan (21 March 2014). "Putting the art into "tart"". The Wellcome Collection Blog.
  3. "The Typographic Hub: Tart Cards". Birmingham Institute of Art & Design. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  4. "Tart Cards Exhibition". Plymouth College of Art. 9–27 January 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  5. "Sex Issue: Type Tart Cards". Wallpaper. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  6. "Crackdown on telephone box 'tartcards'". PA News. 16 May 1999.
  7. Archer, Caroline; Clayton, Rob (2003). Tart Cards: London's Illicit Advertising Art. Mark Batty. ISBN 9780972424042.
  8. Kenneth Lovett (27 March 2011). "'Chica Chica' cards pimp hookers and prostitution, says state senator who wants to make them illegal". NY Daily News. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  9. Russel, Sabin (29 June 2003). "'Just Say No' – to sex – hits Las Vegas". San Francisco Chronicle. p. 46.
  10. "Goodbye to the public telephone: only half are left and rarely used" (in Spanish). Clarín. 7 February 2009.
  11. Kanno, Maurício (1 February 2010). "Prostitutes and their adverts are coming to Twitter" (in Portuguese). Folha Online.
  12. Katie Hunt (18 June 2013). "The dark side of Asia's gambling Mecca". CNN. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  13. Mariam M. Al Serkal (14 May 2014). "Massage cards menace continues in Dubai". Gulf News. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

Books and magazines

External links