Trying hard to find an upbeat story to cheer you up, I’ve gone back to the tried-and-tested February formula of romance, brightening a cold February with the heat of postcard passion. For the collector, there is no shortage of material to alight on, and it’s mostly in the budget price bracket. Pride of place goes to the various designs aimed at St Valentine’s Day, which … Continue reading If Postcards Be the Food of Love, Write On…
It’s currently impossible to ignore the concept of Europe and our departure from it politically on 31 December 2020. The idea of most of a unified continent working in harmony was never quite completed and now, thanks to Britain’s exit, may be unravelling. Relations between different countries are complicated and have led to numerous wars, so any lessening of bonds is a retrograde step. This … Continue reading An Oasis in a Troubled Europe
We know that picture postcards covered (and in some cases still do) virtually every location, so whatever place takes a collector’s fancy, a selection of cards will be around from Golden Age vintage to the present day. I’ve got a soft spot for Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast and am always prone to pick up the odd postcard when I can. One particular viewpoint … Continue reading Way Down West
‘The Stamp House’ was a well-known building (a pub actually) in North Bersted, near Bognor. The ‘Rising Sun’ pub’s owner, Richard Sharpe, collected postage stamps, and this was to form the basis of his future fame. As the years progressed, his stamp collection grew, and he began decorating a few picture frames with his spare stamps. Then, in 1882, a customer bet Mr Sharpe he … Continue reading ‘The Stamp House’
If any style of picture postcards epitomised their worldwide appeal and transmission, it was those of ocean liners. Catering for rich travellers, hopeful emigrants and globetrotting business people, they arrived on the scene in a big way, just as the picture postcard was establishing its world media domination (otherwise known as the ‘Golden Age’). Postcards of liners were published in huge quantities during the 20th … Continue reading The World-wide Connection
Although the picture postcard didn’t become widely popular until the final decade of the 19th century, events and personalities from earlier times still frequently appear on them. So it’s no surprise that devotees of the prolific and iconic Charles Dickens, the 19th century novelist, can build up a huge collection of images based on his life and work. In Edwardian days, postcard publishers couldn’t wait … Continue reading What the Dickens!
