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Lobster is big in Boston: Postcards, place commodification, and tourism

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Abstract

An analysis of picture postcards from Boston, Massachusetts shows that, in 1977, Boston was portrayed as a center of heritage and science and technology. In 1990 more postcards featured more views of more sights, emphasising shopping and academe. A new class of novelty cards conveyed images of Boston which did not refer to any particular geographic sites. We interpret these shifts using the idea of place commodification and by situating tourism in the culture industry.

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Corkery, C.K., Bailey, A.J. Lobster is big in Boston: Postcards, place commodification, and tourism. GeoJournal 34, 491–498 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00813145

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