Graphic Research and Editorial Design
Mrs Lyon’s 40 Postcards In Real Colour
Written over a period of twenty three years (1972–1995), this collection of 40 postcards written to Mrs Joan Nicholas Lyon offers a glimpse into her life at 23 Pont Street. Who is this mysterious Mrs Lyon? You will soon find out, through this archive of correspondence between Mrs Lyon and her family, friends and loved ones. Memories long forgotten are documented through these postcards, in an era where electronic mails are unheard of.
This selection of 40 postcards have been painstakingly reproduced as they have been found, actual size, with characters of their original reproduction, crinkly edges, bent corners and illegible handwriting.
This project explore the use of the typological classification of objects int constructing meaning. It is designed to highlight the role of collecting, archiving and taxonomy as fundamental features of research and analysis. A collection of postcards is explored and documented through various typological systems, taking into account values such as scale, material, chronology, places of origin, function etc. A final selection of 40 postcards is collated and classified into eight categories, such as number of stamps, usage of airmail label, postcards with serrated edges etc, and the overprinting of a postmark onto each postcard is used to define the categories each postcard belongs to.
