But then you stop for a moment and wonder why something so boring could possibly hold your attention for so long. I think the mesmerizing element of these boring postcards is that they are actually doing what they were intendid to do during their creation: They are bookmarks of a persons travel. They show you where a person was as they crossed the state line into Ohio. Sure the toll booth in the photograph is not much to look at...but you almost feel as if you are in the car with the traveller.

Also, because these photos are from the 50's and 60's...you feel as if this is not only a travel across the country. But a travel back into time. A young fella like myself can actually appreciate the look of days that are before my time. The best part is that they aren't tampered with. No photography tricks or advertising acrobats. These were point and click photos that aren't trying to be sexy. So yes, these postcards are definitly boring. But that's what is so exciting about them.

26 of 28 found the following review helpful:


Boring, Ugly and Charmless Postcards  Aug 17, 2001 By Anthony Thompson
This book is very funny. Whoever came up with the concept has a delightfully twisted sense of humor. And, I like the fact that the editor lets the cards speak for themselves (rather than indulging in an ultrahip forward). Bravo!

18 of 20 found the following review helpful:


An inspired collection of postcards from the edges  Jan 12, 2001 By hyperbolium
The title is something of a misnomer - there's nothing boring about the cards collected in this edition. Banal, perhaps, but not boring. The irony encapsulated in a desloate stretch of highway titled "Picturesque Indiana" cannot be underestimated in its appeal or entertainment value.

The pride displayed in entrance ways to multimillion dollar turnpikes or the cafes of motels on well-traveled tourist highways speak to a time when the connectivity of automobile travel was still miraculous. Similarly for the cards documenting the rise of shopping centers (malls were still to come), factories, trailer courts, and all manner of 50s and 60s innovation. It all feels quite quaint now, magnified by the editor's terrific selection of poorly composed and wackily titled cards.

The editor has a terrific eye for oddball cards, and the inclusion of cards that show edge wear or postmarks helps bring them to life as mail-art. Perhaps the only negative is that the card backs were not included; a shame, given that the descriptions given there are often as good as the picture image. I also note the peculiar insertion of blank pages here and there.

A must-have volume for postcard collectors, collectors of kitschy 50s/60s art, or just about anyone with an interest in the intersection of industrial and consumer arts.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:


Not postcards to be mailed. As a book it's......boring  May 22, 2008 By Can't get there from here "Joel"
First a word of clarification. These are not postcards to be mailed. I didn't read the description clearly. This was only my fault, but someone else out there might make the same mistake.

Second, the publisher's description and viewers' comments are correct: These are boring, charmless, insipid images, that might tell us a lot about who we think we are -- perhaps of how proud small-town America was of its new airports, bus terminals and banks after the war. But I thought that not including any reflections by a student of our culture (Lord knows there are enough candidates), was just plain cheap, and makes this little book, well, boring.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:


Fascinating Collection of the Mundane  Jun 10, 2001 By Eric Vondy "Eric Vondy"
Boring Postcards is a conundrum. Then name perfectly describes the contents of the book yet they become fascinating, baffling, and sometimes hilarious. What goes through one's mind is why would anyone take a photo of this then try to sell it or use it to attract tourists. Why would anyone make a postcard of an interstate, a bend in the road, a truck stop, an aerial view of a hotel, a hospital room? Individually, no one would pay attention to them. But put together they become mesmerizing. It has the same effect as looking through a bunch of photos that have no meaning to you. You know no one, the photography is bad, you don't know why the photographer chose to take a picture of what they did yet they remain interesting. And Boring Postcards, perhaps because they were ostensibly done by professional photographers, remains intriguing.

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