Kasmin’s Postcard Series
Five beautifully-produced small volumes: Wreck; Elders; Scrub; Meat and Size.
100 postcards, dating from the beginning of the 20th Century, per book.
By John Kasmin
Published by Trivia Press
“Before photographically illustrated magazines or newspapers, before television and facebook networks existed, in the first decade or so of the twentieth century, picture postcards were sent by the hundreds of millions worldwide bearing messages between friends and families, and providing images of peoples, places and events to inform and entertain the recipients.
My interest in collecting these cards is rather similar to that I ascribe to the original senders of them but of course I enjoy too their survival intact and the hunt for them in dealers’ boxes and albums. And then the pleasure of sharing them with you.” – John Kasmin, the leading art dealer, and the creator of the eponymous Series.
The challenge
I’ll use Kasmin laconic style – a very original Series, but surprisingly the publishing trade (and the media) often don’t like surprises!
The solution
Think laterally both about the subject, ‘postcards’, and about the topics in the book such as Wreck: pictures of calamities and disasters; and Scrub: scenes of washing from all over the world. Moreover, make the most of Kasmin’s high profile in the arts world since he has made an indelible mark.
The result
Despite some initial resistance on the media’s part, the Series was eventually welcomed with great interest. There was a long interview with Kasmin in national newspaper ‘The Daily Telegraph’ (ABC controlled circ. 477,927), prestigious lifestyle magazines ‘Tatler’ (ABC circ. 80K) and Condé Nast’s ‘The World of Interiors’ (circ. 55K) covered it. The latter will also do a full feature about Kasmin’s house in the New Year. Several arts magazines/ websites reviewed it, including ‘The Art Newspaper’; ‘Architect’s Journal’ and the digital edition of the ‘British Journal of Photography’. ‘Picture Postcards Monthly’, the UK magazine for postcard collectors, run an extended piece about the whole Series and about Kasmin himself. Lastly, he was interviewed by BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking programme and an interview with BBC R4 is being lined-up.