Beryl Cook is one of my favorite contemporary artists. Her buxom, large middle aged Jewish-English women in their bright, tight-fitting clothing, zany hairdos, living their alternative life styles are cheerful and often eye opening. In one of her recent books, one of her paintings depicts a largesse lady in a telephone booth which is plastered with the calling cards which prostitutes have placed there to advertise their services. Beryl Cook confesses to collecting them. She is not alone. Our friend in England, Teddy, a petite lady in her late seventies is always out picking up these bits of pop culture both for herself and her friends.
As long as our nation is in a "beat our breasts" and "Morning Becomes Electra" type of soap opera mood, I thought why not introduce these European bits of ephemera to those who are not already picking them up and collecting them. Now the British government tried to get the guys who load up these Kiosks under the littering law, but they were ruled against by the Appeal court.
Cyclers make about $160 a day going from phone booth to phone booth filling them up, with the majority of people taking them not availing them- selves of the services but just collecting the cards. Teddy said these chaps who deliver them are quite nice and always give her the cards she doesn't have and not just because she is a senior citizen but because they are very accommodat- ing young men and women doing a job.
Prostitution is not illegal in Britain as most of Europe is much more sensible and less puritanical than we are. Some of these cards are poorly made, but others are very classily done. The best of these cards we have seen seem to be from Japan where telephone cards give you just enough time to call the girl and leave your number so she can return your call. They are on plastic and are very collectible, where the paper ones are still virtually free.
A short comment on phone card collecting. The market in Europe has become soft but is still more active than here in the states. One of the reasons is that phone cards in any country can be used anywhere within that country. Phone cards in the states can be non- functional even outside of the store they are purchased from. The number of different phone companies make phone cards here in the states a frustrating commodity. I know... I have some I'm still looking for a phone booth to use in! The US post office ones seem to be the best of the lot.
As for the calling cards of the girls and boys who make their living in the world's oldest profession; they are legitimate businesses which is proved by the fact they pay taxes and take Visa, MasterCard and American Express! There are those who will highly disapprove of these cards and the collectors of them, but will themselves have poured over the Ken Starr report, which to me is porno and not a historical or government document. If it was the latter, the US Government printing office would have printed it, and the creative copyright which belongs to the government would be making the money instead of all types of others who, I think, are usurping the copyright that belongs to "we the people". If this article meets with disapproval, then you should be horrified at the Starr report. Will the Starr report ever become collectible? I hope not, but I think it will.
Back to Beryl Cook and the call persons. These are neat bits of social commentary and can be quite amusing. There is a whit and whimsy about some of these cards that fascinate many. Looking at the box full of them that Teddy has given us and yes, we've nipped into some of those Kiosks in London ourselves, and chosen a few to add to the box. The thing that I find so interesting about these cards is that they make no pretenses of being anything but what they are. The British above all have a sense of humor which accepts much in a very healthy way. I think the Charlie Chaplin take-off is wonderful. These cards, after all, are much more interesting that collecting cards advertising plumbers, CPA's or even antiques dealers. Europe's attitude to Sex has always been so much more relaxed and healthy than ours, which has been dictated to by the puritanical. Guess that's why we are the laughing stocks of Europe at the moment with the Starr-Lewinsky soap opera.
How about a card that says "Monica, a naughty Sex Kitten guarantees to give pleasure to even the most repressed Starr". Sorry I couldn't resist that.
Check out the works of Beryl Cook. She is a marvelous artist and her prints and paintings sell for high prices, but her telephone cards are only about $10 each.
PS - I just had to include the following little "tidbit" which is floating around the internet and being forwarded in email from person to person:
"Public media should not contain explicit or implied descriptions of sex acts. Our society should be purged of the perverts who provide the media with pornographic material while pretending it has some redeeming social value under the public's 'right to know."
- allegedly Kenneth Starr, 1987, "Sixty Minutes" interview with Dianne Sawyer.
About the author: If you have questions or need an appraisal,
Pam can be contacted at halloweenqueen @cheshire.net or by calling
603-239-8875. She has an antique shop special- izing in postcards,
ephemera and holi- day items, and is always interested in purchasing
items for her shop on Route 10 in Winchester, N.H., or for her
private collection. An author of four books, and publisher of
the Trick or Treat Trader, she writes for magazines and newspapers
internationally.