Map of Scotland demonstrating 

all of the clans and their territories

    There is much to learn from this postcard. It provides us with insight into Scottish culture and tourism during the 20th century. The publishers decision to incorperate a tartan to represent a clan demonstrates the popularity and demand of postcards with patriarchal representings of their country in the time period. Through the featured tartan we can see an example of how clans are identified and differentiated throughout Scotland. The text in the bottom left of the postcard reads, “Dress Stewart”, which points out the type of tartan it is and how it represents the Stewart clan. We can see the importance of the tartan as a symbol of clan kinship and of Scotland itself. (Johnson, 3) 

     The consumer who wrote the message on this postcard intended to send it all the way from Glasgow, Scotland to Montmagny, Quebec; something that would only be possible with the evolution of postcards to begin with. A high demand in postcards influenced enhanced printing technology as well as the development of postal services. (History of Postcards, 6) With the improvement of these services, it was increasingly easy to send and recieve postcards quickly, making it the closest thing in that time period to the social networking we experience today (Gillen, 2016).

Postcards have been used as a communicative device to share experiences or send a simple message. This postcard is evidence of the influence of ephemera. A simple item that is meant to have minimal significance, created impact on a global scale.