Tart Cards - London’s Illicit Advertising Art

In London, more money is spent on sex than going to the cinema.

Tart cards are the means by which providers of sexual services advertise, and they’ve become as ubiquitous a symbol as the red telephone boxes in which they are found.

Over 13 million cards are distributed annually. Read the cards in the boxes and you get more than just a hint of ‘another’ London.

Some people find the cards offensive, others amusing; but for the girls and their customers they are a commercial necessity. For anyone interested in graphic design the cards form a microcosm of evolving style, taste and technique in design. Love them or loath them, Tart Cards are undoubtedly an intriguing slice of English social history.