Tokens of renewal: The picture postcard as a secular relic of re-creation and recreation

Abstract

There are many parallels between holy-day and holiday journeys to places of renewal and in the rituals of sacred and secular ‘pilgrims’ in those spaces. These include the purchase of souvenirs. This paper considers the unique qualities of a specific tourist souvenir – the picture postcard. It compares and contrasts the behaviours and the agencies of this ‘travelling landscape-object’ (della Dora, V. 2007. “Putting the World into a Box: A Geography of Nineteenth Century Travelling Landscapes.” Geografiska Annaler 89B, 4: 287–306) with those of the sacred relic, focusing on the ways in which it disseminates materialised experience, marking presences and absences, and creating and strengthening interpersonal relationships. The paper ends by describing the ways in which these remnants authenticate the journey, whether sacred or secular, and asks if, for our times of retreat and recreation to be meaningful, we must validate them to ourselves and to others.