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 in places such as Soho, London, as handwritten postcards outside prostitutes' flats or in the windows of newsagents or shops. As direct references to prostitution would generally be unacceptable, the cards were carefully worded and often contained euphemistic references to sex, with terms such as large chest for sale.
By the late 1980s tart cards had become black-and-white photocopied cards containing printed text and telephone numbers. The cards from the 1980s and 1990s often included black-and-white drawings printed on neon-coloured card along with tongue-in-cheek phrases. In larger cities, the cards were placed in phone boxes. The style of illustration changed in the early twenty-first century, when tart cards began to appear with full-colour nude photographs, mobile telephone numbers and websites.
The cards from the 1980s and 1990s have become a memorable part of London counter-culture from that era. 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, exhibitions and books such as the 2003 publication Tart Cards: London's Illicit Advertising Art.
Video Tart card
Tart cards by country
- United Kingdom: in London tart cards are placed in phone boxes by professional "carders", who tour the phone boxes, replacing cards which have been removed by the telephone companies' cleaners. Carders often remove cards placed by rival carders. Placing tart cards in phone boxes was made illegal by the passing of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 which made carding punishable by up to six months imprisonment or a fine of up to £5000. By 2002 most convicted carders were receiving fines of £200-£1000, although persistent offenders were receiving jail terms of 28 days. An estimated 13 million tart cards per year were being distributed across Britain at that time; the telephone company British Telecom was removing 150,000 tart cards per week from central London telephone boxes and it had call-barred 500 of the telephone numbers used on tart cards. However, despite police operations against carders the practice of carding still continues. In North West England the cards are known as slag tags.
- United States: In hispanophone parts of New York City they are known as "Chica Chica" (Girls Girls) cards and men hand them out as flyers at night on the streets. In Las Vegas they are known as "sex cards" and left on sidewalks and hotel stairways.
- Argentina: They are found in Buenos Aires.
- Brazil: They are found in São Paulo.
- South Korea: They may be found on the streets and in the public men's toilets of Seoul.
- Poland: Carders place them behind windscreen wipers in the central parts of Warsaw.
- Israel: Business card format advertisements are commonly dropped on street corners in Tel Aviv.
- China: Business cards are given out by pimps to potential customers.
- Macau: They are dropped in the city's sidewalks and underpasses.
- Dubai: Cards advertising "massage" services, often printed with images of scantily-clad young East Asian women, are slipped under front doors or car windows.
Maps Tart card
References
Bibliography
- Archer, Caroline; Clayton, Rob (2003). Tart Cards: London's illicit advertising art. West New York, NJ: Mark Batty. ISBN 978-0972424042.
- Archer, Caroline (2003). "Tart cards". Baseline. No. 40.
- Devlin, Tony, ed. (1994). The X-Directory: kink cards 1984/1994. London: Pi34. ISBN 978-1898760009.
- Jewell, Patrick (1993). Vice Art: an anthology of London's prostitute cards. Harrogate: Broadwater House. ISBN 978-0952100942.
External links
- Pictures of the inside of a phone box covered in tart cards
- Pages from The X-Directory
- Tart Art: the prostitute calling cards of London
Source of article : Wikipedia
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