James Bissell-Thomas, owner of the Donald McGill Postcard Museum on the Isle of Wight who is showing the collection said: "What is startling is how innocent the majority of these 'obscene' cards were.

"It seemed to be a bit of a witch hunt and was really very sad. Many of the images had been on display in the 1930s and 1940s and they were suddenly seen as a threat to society."