New app to bring the endearing postcard into the 21st century

SALISBURY, U.K. - June 27, 2014 - PRLog -- The UK’s website for cultural heritage experiences has fused the beloved Victorian concept of the postcard with 21^st century technology, to bring back the joy of receiving and sending a postcard. The britishhistorybreaks.com (http://www.britishhistorybreaks.com/) Postcard App allows users to send real postcards from their mobile devices and is set to change the way its customers share stories of their travels.

Modern technology has done wonders for communication yet where one channel flourishes, another ebbs away. The traditional postcard has been just such a channel; a mere 20 years ago it was the sole method of communicating news of summer holidays and in spite of its subsequent decline, it is still considered an overwhelmingly welcome gesture.

British History Breaks is celebrating the launch of its Postcard App with a giant postcard backdrop at the Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival this week, hoping to capture the attention of some of the esteemed guest speakers such as Anthony Beevor, Richard Dawkins and Damien Lewis. #perfectpostcard is the hashtag for the weeklong event.

The British History Breaks Postcard App will be free to download for the iPhone and iPad from 1^st August 2014 and costs £1.49 to send to both UK and International recipients, giving customers a chance to share their unique heritage experiences in a physical postcard, without the administration of finding a stamp or a post-box.

For visitors to one of British History Breaks’ ‘History Collection’ of hotels, the process for sending a postcard could hardly be easier.

- Simply download the britishhistorybreaks.com (http://www.britishhistorybreaks.com/) Postcard App,

- Select the postcard of the castle hotel, coaching inn, country house or historic hotel in which they are staying, or create their own by taking a photo during their stay,

- Add their own message plus the address details of their friend or family member,

4)   - Send!

Everyone that books accommodation through British History Breaks before the end of August 2014 can enjoy complimentary postcards during their stay, simply by using their unique member number.

History of the Postcard

There has been a postal service in one form or another since the days of the Persian Empire but it wasn’t until the Victorian era that folks started to experiment with postcards. In Britain in 1839, the postal service had a uniform charge of a penny and a year later playwright Theodore Hook took advantage of this cost effectiveness to send what is today regarded as the world’s first postcard. It featured hand drawn caricatures of postal workers as ‘scribes’ all sat around a giant inkwell. No doubt Theodore fancied himself as quite the wit.

The French took notice and decided on a more pragmatic purpose for the postcard. During the Franco-Prussian war, French soldiers stationed in Brittany sent postcards back to loved ones. Clearly, the sentiment involved in sending a postcard was a powerful factor in maintaining troop morale. The idea was infectious for in 1871, the Germanians nicked the idea and created the first souvenir picture postcard sent from Vienna.

Not to be outdone, the French gave new impetus to the postcard when they started the postcard heyday of the 1890’s, showcasing the recently constructed Eiffel Tower. For the next 100 years the postcard moved from strength to strength until the onset of the digital revolution.

-          Ends    -

Notes to Editors

-          Theodore Hook’s postcard was auctioned in the UK in 2002 for around 50,000 USD[1]

-          The britishhistorybreaks.com (http://www.britishhistorybreaks.com/) Postcard App will be available to download on iPad and iPhone from 1^st August

-          The App is powered by KITE technology www.kite.ly

-          To discover more about British History Breaks, please visit http://www.britishhistorybreaks.com

-          For further information about the britishhistorybreaks.com (http://www.britishhistorybreaks.com/) Postcard App, property imagery, or to arrange a review stay at one of its ‘History Collection’ hotels, please contact Shelley Doyle e: shelley@britishhistorybreaks.com

-          For advise planning a multi-trip itinerary, please contact: info@britishhistorybreaks.com (mailto:info@britishhistorybreaks.com%20)

-          f: www.facebook.com/britishhistorybreaks (http://www.facebook.com/britishhistorybreaks%20)

-          t: www.twitter.com/historybreaks (http://www.twitter.com/historybreaks%20)

-          p: http://www.pinterest.com/historybreaks

[1] Reference: http://www.libanpostcard.com/postcard_history.html