31/12/2016
LONDON
TOWER BRIDGE
Published by
JUDGES OF HASTINGS
Ref: C14047
(My copy was posted Aug 1993)
Happy New Year’s Eve to all our viewers
Hopefully tonight’s fireworks in London will be impressive, certainly greater in quantity than that shown on this postcard here.
THE 6TH NATIONAL TRADITIONAL GAMES OF MINORITY NATIONS
THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Official State Postal Bureau Card
POSTAL STATIONERY POST CARD
Ref: JP 81 (1 – 1)
Issued 1999
Every year China produces a vast number of these postal stationery post cards with pre-printed stamps. So many in fact that keeping up with them must be quite a slog if you do not already have some sort of standing order with the Chinese state postal bureau or a specialised dealer. I have neither but I have picked up a few of these where I come across them in cheap boxes. That was where this example came from. For sport collector’s you do get some unusual events depicted on these cards.
SPRING SONG
From a water-colour drawing by
ROLAND WARD
Published by
ROYLE PUBLICATIONS LTD, LONDON
Ref: PC. 294
I still cannot resist a bird postcard and this one of a song thrush is delightful. This publishing company, ‘ROYLE PUBLICATIONS, LTD’, have issued many postcards depicting paintings, including various images of birds and wildlife, including some, which I have, which depict bird paintings by Sir Peter Scott. These are always worth seeking out and are printed on good quality matt board.
“LE FACTEUR EN 1900”
Published by
COLLECTION VISUALIA
Ref: 2005
It is not unusual for companies to take old postcards and then reproduce them on modern postcards. After all the original design was probably made to look appealing and in doing so could, and often does, still appeal to this day. This is especially the case when the postcard features a construction or location which is still in use or is a national or local icon. The Eiffel Tower is certainly that. You also have a nice postman, and they are still around – just, and there is the added attraction of depicted early French postage stamps, so even stamp collectors would have been interested in the original, and the reproduction, postcard. An ‘Old on a New’ if you will.
31/12/2016
WOMAN and HOME
Untitled free postcard given away with the magazine ‘Woman and Home’
An extremely common and all but valueless postcard which was issued in its thousands as a free postcard given away with a popular magazine. Because of this, many of these cards are found postal used, and often as entries in competitions. This one here was used in a Kellogg’s Corn Pops ‘Take That’ competition. If you ever sort through ‘Really Cheap’, 10p or even 5p’, postcard boxes, there is a high chance you will come across an example of this postcard, so please don’t pay more than 10p for this (to be honest it probably catalogues at 5p – getting a copy would not be difficult). I have around 30 copies of this card but I have them because of the cancellations, stamps and other marks that appear on them. This copy here has a very unusual usage – see below
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
If you are going to send in a postcard as a competition entry it is always a good idea to use a proper postage stamp. But here the sender has applied a small stamp sized sticker instead. But, Royal Mail realised what had occurred and applied a ‘ROYAL MAIL – SURCHAGE – Postage Underpaid - LUTON’ postage due instruction mark dated 27 September 1994. It is always nice to find such instruction marks on proper mail, which means mail items that are genuine and not philatelic items deliberately contrived to receive these marks by dealers and collectors. As this is clearly a competition entry postcard the usage here is genuine, which in my mind makes this a much more interesting item. The instruction mark also adds value and is worth more than the postcard itself.
DOVER CASTLE
KENT
Published for
ENGLISH HERITAGE
Ref: KA-17024
“The Prime Minister Winston Churchill studies reports of the action that day with Vice Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey, Flag Officer Commanding Dover on 28 August 1940”
(Text from Reverse side of Postcard)
(Image – Imperial War Museum Collections)
If you ever visit Dover Castle it is worth also taking in the underground war tunnels which were used in World War II. Dover Castle was of course a very important location during the early days of the war and there was much fighting over the English Channel which was viewed and monitored from the cliff where the tunnels were located. This postcard here, picked up a couple of years ago, on my visit, is a nice addition to my ‘Military’ themed collection.
DOVER CASTLE
KENT
Published for
ENGLISH HERITAGE
Ref: KA-12028X
STATUE – ADMIRAL SIR BERTRAM RAMSEY
“Statue of Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey (1885 – 1945) by Stephen Melton, erected in 2000. During the Second World War Dover Castle played a vital military role, and it was from his headquarters in the cliff tunnels that Ramsey directed the celebrated rescue of nearly 338,000 allied soldiers from Dunkirk in May 1940. Ramsey went on to take command of naval operations in the build-up to D-Day and made a crucial contribution to its success.”
(Text from Reverse side of Postcard)
I thought this postcard was a perfect partner to the above black and white photograph which depicts Ramsey with Winston Churchill. It is also a postcard which you would only really be able to obtain by visiting the Castle itself, where the statue is located, and where this postcard is an exclusive ‘English Heritage’ issue available in the gift shop.
30/12/2016
ESSEX POLICE MARKED FORD SIERRA
PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE ESSEX POLICE TRAINING SCHOOL
CHELMSFORD – 1983
Published by
J. A. CARDS
Ref: PV/1
Limited edition of 1000
(Photograph courtesy of the Ford Motor Company Photographic Library)
Printed by – THOUGHT FACTORY
When you immerse yourself in a hobby you can find yourself wanting to try all aspects of it, with postcards this would include publishing your own postcard. This postcard here was the first postcard I published on my own behalf (I organised an earlier one on behalf of my scout group).
I had the good fortune to obtain permission from the Ford Motor Company to issue postcards from some of the images held in their Photographic Library. Considering my employment this one here was always going to be the first one I did.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
SLOGAN CANCELLATION:
‘CAR CRIME. LOCK IT – STOP IT’
Wakefield West Yorkshire – 15th Sept 1992
You used to be able to send of envelopes and cards to receive slogan cancels, but this option was stopped some years back. As I had these police car postcards I could not resist having this slogan applied. I think I did ten copies, and obviously kept one myself.
30/12/2016
WIPA 1981
INTERNATIONAL STAMP EXHIBITION
MALTA POST OFFICE POSTAL CARD
Design by
Harry Borg
“This postal card commemorates the participation of the Malta Post Office in WIPA 1981 International Stamp Exhibition held from 22 to 31 May, 1981, in Vienna, Austria”
(Text from reverse side of Postcard)
The first thing that caught my eye with this postcard was the fact that it has two pre-printed stamps on it. This is quite uncommon with postal stationery postcards (unless there was need to uprate existing cards for new postal rates – but this only really happened with older issues and does not occur with modern postal stationery postcards). The two pre-printed stamps have been cancelled with the special cachet/handstamp available for the event that the card was produced for. These are nice items, and have the ‘added’ bonus of being quite cheap as well.
30/12/2016
RAYLEIGH MILL
Published by the
RAYLEIGH & DISTRICT PHILATELIC SOCIETY
Ref: No 1 of Series
I have been a member of the Rayleigh & District Philatelic Society (more commonly known these days as just the ‘Rayleigh Philatelic Society’) for many years now. When I first joined this ‘club’ they were still selling copies of this postcard, in fact I think some mint copies are still available.
Although intended to be the first in a series of postcards depicting landmarks in and around Rayleigh, photographs of other locations were taken in anticipation, this one here ended up being the only postcard printed. ‘Rayleigh’, located in the county of Essex, is just a ‘20 minute’ drive outside of my home town of Southend-on-Sea. This windmill is located behind where the clubs meeting hall used to be, but we have moved since. Copies of the postcard were used for the annual STAMP DAY event held in 1984 – see below.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
Copies were posted on 24th March 1984, which was the date of the annually held STAMP DAY event. The stamps used were cancelled with a single ring ‘RAYLEIGH – ESSEX’ number 7 date cancel. A green boxed cachet was also applied to all the postcards that read:
POSTED AT
24 MAR 1984
RAYLEIGH STAMP DAY
The stamp used here is a 16p ‘The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)’ stamp from the 1983 ‘British Army Uniforms’ set (SG 1218).
REVERSE SIDE OF THREE MORE POSTCARDS
A variety of different stamps were used, and if one wanted they could pick up more than one of these. Here you have a further three, all 16p stamps which was the postage rate at that time:
TOP – 20TH CENTURY GARDEN series – SISINGHURST – 1983 (SG 1223)
MIDDLE – BRITISH CATTLE series – HIGHLAND COW – 1984 (SG 1240)
BOTTOM – BRITISH FAIRS series – 1983 (SG 1227)
These all have the same date stamp and green cachet as applied to all the postcards used in this way.
29/12/2016
GREAT BRITIAN POSTAL STATIONERY REPLY POSTCARD
HALF PENNY BROWN QUEEN VICTORIA
With Original Wrapper:
5 REPLY
COURT -SHAPE
STOUT
POST CARDS
6d
Circa 1897
I have mentioned before my interest in these postal stationery cards where they are still within their original sales wrapper. Some of these are quite hard to find. This one here is for the ‘Court-Sized’ half penny Queen Victoria brown reply post card.
HALF PENNY COURT SIZE WITH ORIGINAL WRAPPER
HALF PENNY BROWN
GREAT BRITAIN QUEEN VICTORIA POSTAL STATIONEY CARD
COURT SIZE (STOUT BOARD)
ORIGINAL WRAPPER
29/12/2016
WE MOVED
STONE
Television – Radio – Hi Fi
1088 So. Fairfax Ave,
Los Angeles 19, Calif
WEbster 6-6269
QUALITY SERVICE “Since 1937”
Free parking in rear
KEEP THIS CARD
Printed in ‘GENUINE NATURAL COLOR”
By
DEXTER PRESS, Inc
This is a cracking image of the front of an early American television shop, circa 1960’s (possibly late 1950’s, but I suspect the 1960’s is more likely). With my interest in television related postcards this one was a must.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
29/12/2016
VEHICULES UTILITAIRES
Car Publicitaire sur Renault
Bonbons le Nain Gourmand
d’apres buvard d’epoque.
Collection Phillipe MORO
Published by
CENTENAIRE Editions
Ref: No 18
I do like these unusual advertising postcard reproductions. What is depicted here is an artist’s representation of an actual vehicle that was built as an advertising platform for this sweet company. The vehicle is a 1951 Renault 2500 KG R2163 ‘Le Nain Gourmand’. I believe only one of these was built but and it was later sold by the auction company Bonhams for £39,158 (but I am not sure in what year).
After ‘WW2’ the Tour de France became a publicity showcase for many companies with popular brands. With all the people lining the roadside it was a promoter’s dream, especially with kids who were handed out free sweets from this, and other promotional vehicles. This vehicle has the representation of ‘Le Nain Gourmand’, symbol of this famous French confectioner, at the front along with the character’s wife ‘La Naine Gourmande’ at the back of the vehicle. Large representations of sweets appear between the two characters. The vehicle construction was commenced in 1952 and it was designed for use along the 4th stage of the race that year. The vehicle ended up being such a success that it continued following the race right up until its end in Paris.
This is a good example of buying a postcard because I liked the image and then, after further study, discovering an interesting story behind what is depicted. Not bad considering the postcard cost me just 15p.
PHOTOGRAPH
Here is a photograph of the actual vehicle
PHOTOGRAPH
Here is a photograph of the actual vehicle
29/12/2016
DEBBIE REYNOLDS ….. RIP
Mary Francis Reynolds
1st April 1932 – 28th December 2016
Actress, singer, dancer, entertainer and film star, probably best remembered for her appearance in the film musical ‘Singing in the Rain’.
POSTCARD
EDITIONS ZREIK
Coll. Telerama la memoire du cinema
2 – Singin’in the Rain – 1952
SINGING IN THE RAIN
CHANTONS SOUS LA PLUIE
How sad, passed away the day after her daughter Carrie Fisher passed away. The papers are saying she died from a broken heart after her daughter died which is too sad to even contemplate, especially for someone who brought so much light and bright entertainment into other people’s lives.
So, 2016 had not ended its trawl of famous people, I truly hope it has now.
28/12/2016
WONDERGROUND GALLERY
WALT DISNEY WORLD
FLORIDA
Original Artwork of
“FRIENDSHIP UNDER ONE GOLDEN SUN”
By Artist
Jeremiah Ketner
I avoided posting a Wonderground Gallery postcard over the Christmas lead up, but I wanted to post one today. This rather colourful piece of artwork captures the very essence of the Disney theme park ride with what is considered to have either the most annoying, or the most-catchy theme song – all together now; “It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all it’s a small, small world”.
The ride is famous, and is one of those iconic Disney rides, loved and hated in equal measures in my family. I am one of those who loves it.
27/12/2016
CARRIE FISHER ….. RIP
Carrie Frances Fisher
21st October 1956 – 27th December 2016
Actress and author, without a doubt best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the Star Wars films.
POSTCARD
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Published by
CLASSICO SAN FRANCISCO, INC
Ref: 105-087
How much did I not want to have to do this posting, but, 2016 has not let up yet with the taking of ‘Celebrities’.
I am one of the original children of Star Wars, I was in that playground, I saw the film when it first came out and I was one of many caught up in all the excitement. I have subsequently seen every Star Wars movie at the cinema, including the specials when the originals were released with CGI upgrades. Today is a sad day for all Star Wars fans.
27/12/2016
RICHARD ADAMS ….. RIP
Richard George Adams
9th May 1920 – 24th December 2016
Writer and author of children’s books such as ‘Watership Down’, ‘Shardik’ and ‘The Plague Dogs’.
POSTCARD
WATERSHIP DOWN, 1974
Written by Richard Adams
Cover Illustration by Pauline Baynes
Postcard from the box set
“ONE HUNDRED PUFFIN COVERS IN ONE BOX”
Funnily enough I have never read ‘Watership Down’, but I have read both ‘Shardik’ and ‘The Plague Dogs’, both when I was much younger, and although both are very dark stories I enjoyed reading them both. I would probably have read Watership Down if I had not seen the animated film version first.
27/12/2016
BBC DOCTOR WHO
OFFICIAL 2017 DESK CALENDAR
‘INCLUDES TWELVE COLLECTABLE POSTCARDS’
This is a superb collection of postcards all attached individually to a different month sheet within this desk calendar. Each postcard depicts a piece of artwork from an individual episode from the Peter Capaldi era.
If you can find this desk calendar in the sales it is well worth a look, to be honest I would say this is worth seeking out at any price (the original price was just £5.99).
FRONT COVER SHEET FROM DESK CALENDAR
I have dismantled one of the desk calendars and have depicted its contents below for you
REAR SHEET FROM DEASK CALENDAR PACKAGE
All twelve postcard images are displayed on the left side
MARCH CALENDAR PAGE
WITH ATTACHED POSTCARD ON LEFT SIDE
I have picked just one page from the desk calendar to show you how the postcards are attached. These are not titled or numbered, but they do all have some text on the front which I will indicate within my descriptions. Although the month the postcard is attached to is not mentioned anywhere on the actual postcards themselves this is how I will title each depiction.
REVERSE SIDE OF CALENDAR SHEET
Here you can also see the reverse side of the attached postcard
JANUARY
“Davros remembers”
FEBRUARY
“I might have to go hunting”
No, not Mary Poppins, but The Master in female form
MARCH
“The Dark, The Sword, The Forsaken, The Temple”
APRIL
“We will drain the oceans and put the people in chains”
MAY
“War is our way”
JUNE
“Me is who I am now”
JULY
“There will be truth, or there will be consequences”
AUGUST
“Life isn’t black and white”
SEPTEMBER
“I did tell you not to watch”
OCTOBER
“Let me be brave”
NOVEMBER
“How many seconds in eternity”
DECEMBER
“Nothing’s sad till it’s over then everything is”
PHOTOGRAPH
This is the desk calendar in its full packaging (with sale stickers on the front! – a bargain at £3.59)
SMALL CALENDAR
BBC DOCTOR WHO OFFICIAL 2017 MINI-CALENDAR
For those who also like to add something different to their collection which has some connection, then this small calendar might be worth adding to the desk calendar above (especially if you can pick it up for £2.99).
The reason to have this as well is that it contains eight of the images used on the postcards in the desk calendar above. Here, obviously, they are just printed on the pages of the calendar, but it is nice to see the designs used again, and you get to see four other paintings in the same format which are not included in the other collection.
REVERSE SIDE OF ‘MINI-CALENDAR’
Here you can see the other images
26/12/2016
GEORGE MICHAEL ….. RIP
Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou
25th June 1963 – 25th December 2016
Singer and songwriter with a highly successful solo career but who will forever be remembered for being part of the pop group ‘Wham’
POSTCARD
WHAM! – MAKE IT BIG
Published by
Editions “Humour a la Carte”
Paris
Ref: A-C 307
It appears that 2016 has not yet finished taking our celebrities. On Christmas Day, only yesterday, it was announced that George Michael had died that very day. Every year now when they play ‘Last Christmas’ the song will have extra potency and meaning.
This rather nice black and white photograph postcard was published by a French company but was sold in the UK, I know this because I bought this copy here myself at the time of its release. It is over 30 years old now (and I am sure I do not need to tell any of you that George Michael is depicted at the bottom of the photograph!)
WHAM!
SMASH HITS
Photo by
Brian Aris
This was a postcard given away free with the then exceedingly well known music lyrics magazine ‘SMASH HITS’. It has perforated edges along the top and down the left side. The postcard depicts the two male members of the pop group Wham!, George Michael on the left and Andrew Ridgeley on the right. Wham! were a very successful pop group with their first album ‘Fantastic’ reaching No1 in the UK in 1983. The band eventually officially split in 1986.
25/12/2016
SUGARBOO & CO
“Dealer in Whimsy”
Let me admit straight away that I had not previously heard of the company ‘Sugarboo & Co’ before coming across a branch in ‘Disney Springs’, Florida. They have opened the shop in the new covered area which only opened this year (2016).
Inside I was taken with the range of unusual paper products that they sell. I was initially pleased to find that they have their own range of postcards. But, they were $3 each, which is a lot for what you are getting here. The designs may be unique to the outlet but the printing involved, despite being deliberately made this way, is too simple for the cost, in my opinion. Which is a shame as the designs themselves can be quite interesting, although not so much with the wordy designs (again, my opinion). Despite the cost, I decided I needed at least one or two for my collection, as examples.
The designs are not referenced by any number or title beyond the text, if there is any, on the front. Each card also has the same basic reverse layout (see below).
POSTCARD
My love of wildlife did rather win out in my choice of postcards. This one has hermit crabs, big and small along with what looks like a quote.
POSTCARD
Only four weeks before I had been watching kingfishers in Turkey and I expect that might have been at least part of the reason why I chose this postcard design. Also, I do like bird postcards and this one is also quite attractive.
REVERSE SIDE OF POSTCARD
All the postcards, sold in the store I attended, had this standard postcard reverse layout
PHOTOGRAPH
Selection of postcards on sale in large casket at the shop
PHOTOGRAPH
Selection of postcards on sale in large casket at the shop
COMPANY LOGO
Taken from the brown paper bag that my postcards were placed in before being given to me
PHOTOGRAPH
Logo on wall behind the cash tills at the far end of the store
PHOTOGRAPH
Front of the store in Disney Springs, Florida
25/12/2016
EGYPT
POSTAL STATIONERY POSTCARD
1879 - 1884
20 Paras
Sphinx and Pyramid stamp design
This is an example of Egypt’s very first postal stationery post card. It used a stamp design which appeared on the countries actual postage stamps, and which depicted the famous Sphinx and Pyramid in Cairo. This stamp design, with different boarders and values, was used on these postal stationery cards until 1909. This first issue can be found printed on different coloured board stock from ivory to buff (as listed in the Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog – Section 5 – East Africa & Uganda to Ethiopia – Egypt page 1). It is always nice to get an example of the very first issue, but they are often not the most valuable as the new trend of ‘Postcards’ meant that people wanted to buy and try them, thus often millions were produced.
25/12/2016
BRAZIL
POSTAL STATIONERY POSTCARD
1881 - 1884
80 REIS orange on cream
Brazil first received postal stationery post cards the year before, in 1880. This post card here is from the second issue, which commenced in 1881. I found this amongst other cards in a £1 box and at first was confused by the placement of the pre-printed stamp. Here, as you can see, the stamp is in the top centre, rather than the normal position of top right corner. It was this placement which caught my eye. The previous issue had had the normal placement top right, and the following issue in 1889 also returned the stamp to the normal position. So, this unusual set up lasted just eight years.
25/12/2016
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
To
ALL OUR WEBPAGE VISITORS
‘GLORIA’
HUNGARY POSTAL STATIONERY POST CARD
21ST November 1990
This seemed the most appropriate postcard to picture today and I have been saving it up for this reason. The stamp depicts an angel, I am going with this being the Angel Gabriel, the shepherds and Mary and Jesus. The stamp is pre-printed onto the card and has been cancelled with a first day of issue special hand stamp.
25/12/2016
RICK PARFITT ….. RIP
Richard John Parfitt
12TH October 1948 – 24th December 2016
Musician and songwriter, best known as member of the rock band ‘Status Quo’
POSTCARD
CHILDREN IN NEED
Designed by
Michael O'Brien
1996
Published by
REFLECTIONS OF A BYGONE AGE
SIGNED BY STATUS QUO BAND MEMBERS
Signatures as per their position on the postcard
JOHN ‘RHINO’ EDWARDS (Bass, backing vocals)
JEFF RICH (Drums) ANDREW BROWN (Keyboards, guitar, backing vocals)
FRANCIS ROSSI (Guitar, vocals) RICK PARFITT (Guitar, vocals)
2016 has taken another celebrity. I saw the original Status Quo line up live at their penultimate concert at Selhurst Park on the 14th July 1984, on their ‘End of the Road Tour’. I saw the band again, after Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi had put a new line up together, and were supporting ‘Queen’ at Wembley Stadium in 1986.
When I heard the sad news late last night I found myself thinking of one specific postcard which I could post here on the website. Status Quo are a band which I have not seen on postcard, but I assume there are cards out there, so I was left without an image depicting the band, but I have the next best thing.
For the 1996 ‘Children in Need’ event a company called ‘Reflections of a Bygone Age’ arranged for their ‘Pusey Bear’ postcard to be signed by a range of television, film and music celebrities, most signing only one card. These were then sold in a special fund raising sale. One of these postcards was signed by the whole Status Quo band. I had to have this one and was successful in obtaining it. I depict here in in remembrance of Rick.
PHOTOGRAPH
25/12/2016
PRINCESS LEIA
CARRIE FISHER
Published by
CLASSICO SAN FRANCISCO
Ref: 105-522
Yesterday I saw ‘Rogue One’ at my local cinema, and really enjoyed it. But, earlier that day I had heard the news that Carrie Fisher had suffered a serious heart attack whilst on a flight. I truly hope that she recovers and that 2016 does not get to take another of my childhood celebrities. And, it was only, less than a year ago that I was watching Princess Leia back on the big screen, I hope she gets to appear again, played by the only person who should do this, Carrie Fisher.
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