Museums play an important part of twenty-first-century life for residents of the United Kingdom. Either as places of education or entertainment, most of us would consider a visit to a museum or art gallery as part of any holiday. However, for a sector that prides itself in telling stories of a wide variety of cultures and historical periods, it has done a pretty bad job of promoting and recording how the museums of the United Kingdom were founded and how they grew to be such an important part of regional and national identity.

Museums: The Postcard Collection looks at the development of museums by utilising images created during the heyday of the postcard, 1890s–1930s. It illustrates how many of the well-known institutions were founded and grew, and records some museums that no longer exist.