A stick of Rock,Cock ?

This postcard without doubt went on sale at Margate during the early part of the 1950's, such a postcard appealed directly to the earthy humour of the working class londoner who visted Margate in the thousands. This particular card "A stick of Rock, Cock" resulted in prosecution for the artist Donald Mcgill under the obscene publications act in 1954.

A censored postcard 1950's ?

During the early 1950's a series of prosecutions of comic postcard artists, sellers and publishers at many seaside resorts took place. Using the outdated 1857 obscene publications act some local authorities incluiding Margate Borough Council clamped done on the sale of comic postcards which they branded as obscene. Inspite of the persecution, the controversial comic postcards with double meanings continued to be published. To avoid prosecution some comic postcards displayed the British Board of Postcard Censors logo as shown.
Harmless by today's standards this card was "distributed" and not published by Coastal Cards Ltd, Clacton on Sea . The artist is not named either which is not surprising.
I was lucky to purchase this card about ten years ago from old stock on display at the flower shop at the top of Margate High Street run by Margate's Mr Postcard himself Fred Houghton. It is one of my favourites.

This card is in a typical post war format with the art work in a rectangle to enable the postcard to be published on any available size card due to cost or card shortage. Also Aunties hair style is certainly very much the style of that period.