A tart card is a card which advertises the services of a prostitute. The cards are found in many countries, usually in capital cities or red-light districts. Originating in the 1960s, the cards are placed in locations such as newsagents' windows or telephone boxes. Alternatively they are handed out or dropped in the street. Legal action is sometimes taken against their use. Illustrated tart cards from the 1980s and 1990s have come to be regarded as examples of sub-cultural accidental art.

History

In England and Wales the Sexual Offences Act 1956 made soliciting for street prostitution illegal. As a result, indoor sex work became more common and sex workers began to advertise their services and telephone numbers on small, cheaply produced cards in the windows of newsagents. Known as tart cards, they became established in the 1960s in places such as Soho, London, where they were typically handwritten postcards which were displayed 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. The abolition of the 1953 Post Office Act in 1984 inadvertently legalised the placement of advertisements in telephone boxes, and they became the main location for tart cards, particularly in London. By the late 1980s the 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. Subsequently, they have been recognised as a sociological record of trends related to sex work, advertising, design and print. The Wellcome Collection in London contains thousands of examples, just over half of which advertise BDSM services.

Tart cards by country