15/07/2016
“LOOK FOR THE BARE NECESSITIES”
WALT DISNEY WORLD
“Baloo and his friend King Louie discover much more, though, in exciting ADVENTURELAND. Here guests journey to far off exotic places: recreated in their tropical splendor”
(Text from reverse side of postcard)
Ref: 01110245
Compare this image to the one posted two days ago and you will see that the costumes have changed slightly and are more fine-tuned (no Hathi on this one – but as mentioned last time I believe the Hathi character makes few postcard appearances). This is one of the interesting aspects of collecting these postcard images, spotting the changes, large and small, between the different costumes.
15/07/2016
THE INSTITUTION OF GAS ENGINEERS
(Founded 1863 – Royal Charter 1929)
Motto: Assidue Exquirendo Service
(By diligent investigation to serve)
ARMORIAL BEARINGS
A nice heraldry postcard which has been used to receive two special cancellations:
LEFT SIDE – INSTITUTION OF GAS ENGINEERS – 50 YEARS OF ROYAL CHARTER – 9th May 1979, London SW
RIGHT SIDE – INSTITUTION OF GAS ENGINEERS – 116 ANNUAL CONFERENCE – 15th May 1979, London SW
The addition of these two cancels makes this a very nice philatelic item and if anyone collected in a theme of ‘Gas’ or ‘Engineering’ then this would be a very nice item for their collection. For me this fits nicely into my ‘Philatelic Used’ collection.
15/07/2016
CARNINGLI CENTRE
East Street, Newport, Pembrokeshire
Art Gallery, Books, Antiques, Restoration
From a painting by Sheila Horton
Printed by Right Print, Goodwick, Pembrokeshire
This postcard was sent to me by a reader of my column in the Picture Postcard Magazine and it is a smashing example of a locally produced advert postcard which would normally only be available by actually visiting the place in question. If I ever find myself in Newport again (I visited about five years ago for a conference on Badgers) I will definitely seek out this shop/centre as apparently they sell old postcards (although I am advised the selection is heavily transport based – and lots of shipping cards).
If I am right this postcard here is a free advertising one.
15/07/2016
THE WRONG ADDRESS
The “GARDEN ISLE” Series
Clearly for me it was the inclusion of the old fashioned dressed Police Officer that made me acquire this postcard. This copy here was posted from ‘Newport’ on the Isle of Wight in 1904. This is actually an advertising postcard for the “GARDEN ISLE” Store which was then at 48 High Street, Newport on the Isle of Wight. The reverse side has a full half side printed advert – see below.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
ENLARGEMENT OF ADVERT AREA FROM REVERSE SIDE
14/07/2016
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA Toast Rack Car No. 42 at Thorpe Bay c1920
Published by
Pamlin Prints, Croydon CR0 1HW
Ref: M3150
Pamlin Prints produced a massive number of modern postcards which depicted older images. This one obviously appealed to me as it depicts an image from my own home town. But it was also interesting because I have an original postcard which depicts this image, and in fact my very first post ever, back in January, was of this original card. So, if you could not find, or afford the more expensive original postcard there is always this reproduction.
I have a small collection of Pamlin Prints postcards although most of mine are transport related, and this was a theme the company specialized in.
14/07/2016
THE ART OF THE BRICK: DC COMICS
EXHIBITION EXCLUSIVE TO POWERHOUSE MUSEUM, SYDNEY
Published by
AVANTCARD AUSTRALIA
Ref: #19464 (released 2015)
“Created by legendary LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya, this contemporary art exhibition is the world’s largest collection of DC comics-inspired LEGO artwork, ever! See over 100 Super Heroes and Super-Villains, exclusive to the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney for a limited time”
(Text from reverse side of postcard)
Now, this looks like a museum exhibition I would very much have liked to have gone and seen. I am a big fan of Superhero films, comics and books (and especially Postcards) so this was a cracker of a postcard. I love the blue Lego brick built Superman figure depicted here on the front of this postcard. An unusual postcard for anyone who collects Superman postcards (and he is a popular theme)
13/07/2016
DISNEYLAND
THE JUNGLE BOOK AT DISNEYLAND
“Baloo, Colonel Hathi, and King Louie, stars of Walt Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’, frolic across Disneyland to meet new friends”
(Text from reverse side of postcard)
(Posted 1979)
This postcard is a nice early one depicting some well-known Jungle Book characters, with, one possible exception. Hathi (that’s the elephant character in the centre, if you did not know) is one character that I must admit I have not seen as a costumed character on my trips to the other Disney theme park, Disney World, in Florida (this card obviously being from Disneyland in California). These costumes here are early looking designs, which always make for an interesting image, but it was the Hathi elephant made me buy this particular card.
DISNEYLAND
THE THREE CABALLEROS IN ADVENTURELAND
“The Three Caballeros entertain visitors to Adventureland near the Tropical Imports shop at the Jungle Cruise entrance”
(Text from reverse side of postcard)
(Posted 1982)
Here again you have very early costume versions, this time the three Caballeros, which are of course Donald Duck (the character everyone will recognize), Jose Carioca and Panchito (the two lesser known characters). Panchito is a red Cockerill although the costume here gives this character ‘HUGE’ eyes, I mean, really massive eyes. These costumes are not the best but they have a really child-like simplicity and I love them for that
PHOTOGRAPH
THIS IS WHAT THE THREE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE IN THE ANIMATED MOVIE
REVERSE SIDE OF THE ABOVE TWO DISNEY POSTCARDS
13/07/2016
THE FORT MASJID, BELGAUM
Unknown Publisher
Ref: 1027
Printed in Saxony
Belgaum Fort (also known as Belagavi Fort) is located in the city of Belagavi which is located in India (in the Belagavi District in Karnataka State). It was original built in 1204AD but has undergone many renovations over the centuries and has been involved in a number of military attacks and has often been captured.
The fort is perhaps best known now for being where the British imprisoned Mahatma Gandhi during India’s freedom struggle.
12/07/2016
RECOVERY CARD
The holder of this card wishes it to be
known that should they be involved in
an accident of any kind that under no
circumstances do they wish to receive
a visit from Mrs. Thatcher
Despite my political views, which are often open to change, I was a big collector of Maggie Thatcher postcards, both the serious ones and the comic ones, those pro and, most definitely, those anti.
This one would come under both ‘Anti’ and ‘Comedic’ I suspect.
The card is quite shiny in texture and the head of Maggie is pure gold (that’s in a purely printing context of course!)
And of course as of tomorrow we officially have another female Prime Minister – I am probably though, not the best person to ask about the new incumbent
12/07/2016
SOUTHEND ON SEA
THE PIER
Published by
B.B. LONDON
In their
“SOUTHEND ON SEA ‘LIFE BUOY’ SERIES”
This particular copy was posted from Southend in 1908 (10th Aug)
The main image depicts a couple cuddling beside the sea, all be it a rather rough looking sea (when I posted this image on a facebook page related to old images of Southend one person replied that he thought it looked like a young couple stranded on rocks awaiting rescue, possibly by the RNLI! – I can see what he means). Within the life buoy, top left, is a black and white photograph of the town’s famous pleasure Pier.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
Nice clear SOUTHEND-ONOSEA double ring cancel
12/07/2016
STALAG XVIII A
KRIEGSGEFANGENENPOST
MERRY ENGLAND CARNIVAL
“The Beauty Queen”
1942
R.S.M. J.P. GARVEY
Stalag XVIIIA was a Prisoner of War Camp located in Wolfsberg in Austria (it later became an internment camp for Nazi prisoners – ‘373 Internment Camp’).
When I bought this unusual piece of POW mail I originally wondered if this was a fake item as its image seemed a little out of context with my understanding of PIW camps (admittedly gained mostly from viewing prisoner of war feature films). But further investigation has brought up the fact that photography was allowed in Stalag XVIIIA and as a result there are a number of images available to historians from this camp. Although the taking of photographs was permitted the camp also ran tight censorship and as a result, it could be argued, successfully, that the photographs allowed out had a potential propaganda value for the Germans. They allowed photographs of concerts, parades, carnivals and other apparently lavish spectacles put on by the prisoners, this one here depicts a soldier (POW) dressed as ‘The Beauty Queen’ at an event called the ‘Merry England Carnival’, to be posted out from the camp to prisoner’s family members. This particular card went to Bromley in Kent.
The sender was an R.S.M. J.P. GARVEY (Jack). I have often wondered, during the 28 years I have owned this item, if it is Jack Garvey himself depicted as the beauty queen. The costume is rather impressive considering the conditions under which it had to be made.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
KRIEGSGEFANGENENPOST
‘PRISONERS OF WAR POST’
No stamps were required for POW (Prisoners of War) post as under the Geneva Convention prisoners were allowed free access to mail – although this could be censored, of course.
With this card the sender – R.S.M. GARVEY (Regimental Sergeant Major) – kindly supplied all the descriptive information required to understand what is depicted and which event – the ‘MERRY ENGLAND CARNIVAL’ – that the image related too.
The card was posted via the free Prisoners of War post system to an address in Bromley, Kent in the UK. The card has received two red Stalag XVIII1 cachet marks, which I think show that the item was checked by a censor before being forwarded on out of the camp.
This has always been one of my favourite cards as it has a history behind it, which I now know to be factual and real, which makes it even more interesting to me.
12/07/2016
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
“SHOW YOUR SUPPORT”
Published by
Cafepress
As I have previously posted over the last week this conflict, now known as the ‘Iraq War’ is back in the headlines. In America this was called ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ and on the 19th March 2003 President George W. Bush announced that Operation Iraqi Freedom had begun. The operation was aimed at eliminating the rule of Saddam Hussein and preventing his ability to develop weapons of mass destruction. As we now know, no weapons of this type were actually found after the successful invasion. The failure to find WMD’s was a main contributory factor in the Chilcot Report being commissioned. As previously stated, this has now been released and is less than complimentary in its description of how the Prime Minister Tony Blair took this country into war alongside the US.
Here you have a postcard from the US promoting what I suspect was believed to be at that time the approach of the soldiers within Iraq. What-ever anyone’s views may be around the actual reasons for going to war, or the affect the war had on the country then and now, there can be no fault held against those individual soldiers who were just doing their job, as soldiers have done down through the years.
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
“SHOW YOUR SUPPORT”
Published by
Cafepress
A second design from this internet based postcard publishers – postcards could be ordered from their web-site and then the company would print these and send them out to you.
12/07/2016
TORBOLE
Italian Postcard
Printed by
ROMMLER & JONAS, DRESDEN
Torbole is a hamlet, or small village, of the area called Nago-Torble in the municipality of Trentino in Northern Italy. Torbole is 220ft above sea level and is set out like an amphitheatre around one section of Lake Garda.
This early postcard depicts a photograph (a ‘coloured’ black and white one) of the edge of Torbole looking down on the edge of the lake. The area is still popular and, with very little modernization looks much the same (although there is now a strong windsurfing club so lots of these would now be seen on the lake)
PHOTOGRAPH
Modern Torbole
12/07/2016
NUMERICAL SYMMETRY
ROYAL MAIL METERED MAIL POSTING BOX 1996.
Box MB4 at Parkway, Bredbury, Stockport
Published by
REGUS PUBLICATIONS
“REGUS COLLECTOR CARD 4”
Here you have a couple of postcards, the same design, very cleverly used to receive both a meter mark and the Royal Mail Birmingham special handstamps for the occasions of ‘Numerical Symmetry’. This was the occasion each year from 2001 to 1012 when for one single day the six-digit date line would have the same numerical symmetry – in these two cases 06 – 06 – 06 and 07 – 07 – 07.
Here I show you the handstamps from just two of these dates and although the postcard is nice it is clearly the additional handstamps and meter marks that add value to these two items.
THE FRONT DESIGN IMAGE WHICH APPEARS ON BOTH OF THE ABOVE POSTCARDS
ROYAL MAIL METERED MAIL POSTING BOX 1996.
Box MB4 at Parkway, Bredbury, Stockport
Published by
REGUS PUBLICATIONS
“REGUS COLLECTOR CARD 4”
12/07/2016
PONTE DEI SOSPIRI, VENEZIA
“BRIDGE OF SIGHS, VENICE”
Unknown Printer, Publisher.
A nice early black and white photograph on an undivided back postcard (address only to be applied on the reverse side – this copy here is unused). The photograph only covers half of the postcard front because space was required for the message which at this time (around 1900 – 1904) was only allowed on the front of the postcard. The image has been printed on a dull blue (almost extreme pale greenish in colour) card, which is a not unusual coloured card for this early period. Of course, postcards depicting the Bridge of Sighs, a famous Venice landmark, have been available since the invention of picture postcards.
The bridge passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connected the prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s Palace. It was built in 1600 from a design by Antonio Contino. Lord Byron gave the bridge its name; Bridge of Sighs as a translation from the Italian ‘Ponte dei sospiri’ in the 19th century. The story goes that it was named after the sighs made from prisoners taken across this bridge when they took a last look at the splendor of Venice through the windows. Sadly, this appears to be all false as the bridge came after the period of summary executions and the days of the inquisitions and the prison cells were mostly full of small-time criminals (also the windows on the bridge had stone grills covering them which did not allow any view). It is still a beautiful bridge though and the story is still worth the telling, no less so for being just a story.
11/07/2016
CONGRATULATION
TO
ANDY MURRAY
On his second Wimbledon Men’s Title
(Won Yesterday)
This is clearly not a postcard, but I could not let yesterday’s win go without a celebratory mention. I collect postal material connected with the 2012 London Olympics. Murray won the gold medal in Men’s Tennis and at the time the Royal Mail were producing, for the following morning after the British Gold Medal winner had achieved their goal, a stamp depicting the gold medal winner. These stamps came in a small sheet of six stamps. Here you have a first day cover for Andy Murray’s gold medal stamp sheet. I acquired this at the time and when he won his first Wimbledon men’s title the following year they issued a sheet of four stamps. I took those four stamps and applied them to this cover to make a very special individual item for my collection.
(I wonder if they will issue stamps again for this year’s win?)
London Olympics Gold Medal Win – 05/08/2012
Murray Gold Medal stamps issued – 06/08/2012
Wimbledon 2013 Men’s Title win – 08/07/2013
Murray Wimbledon Win stamp sheet of 4 issued – 08/08/2013
Wimbledon 2016 Men’s Title win – 10/07/2016
ANDY MURRAY
&
THE DAVIS CUP
WINNERS
Bring Britain’s 79 year wait for the Davis Cup to an end
Published by
CoIR CARDS
Ref: 2016.CR.191
And as this is a postcard site, and just to prove I do have an Andy Murray postcard – here is one depicting him with the GB Tennis team that won the 2015 Davis Cup.
This company produce a wide range of commemorative postcards, and, issue them very quickly after the event. This one is a cracker for any sports fan, and for any Andy Murray fan (and there will be a few more of those after yesterday’s win).
10/07/206
THE GREAT WAR 1916
(21ST June 2016)
ROYAL MAIL STAMP ISSUE
PHQ/STAMP CARD SET
A most appropriate set considering my recent trip to Thiepval for the 100th anniversary of the Somme, especially as one of the designs depicts the Thiepval monument itself.
As with the two previous WW1 stamp sets issued by the Royal Mail each individual stamp has been designed, painted or selected by a separate artist/designer. Each year has also included a single red Poppy design, and this year’s one is another cracker
THE GREAT WAR 1916
BATTLEFIELD POPPY
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (1) 6.16
By
Giles Revell
If you look closely at this design you will see swirls of colour, and white, and droplets falling from the white clouds. The artist achieved this by making the picture in a water-filled tank. Pigments of varying viscosity were delivered through catheters as clouds or streams of colour and this is the effect you are seeing here. I really like this picture.
THE GREAT WAR 1916
“TO MY BROTHER”
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (2) 6.16
By
John Stevens
John Stevens, an American artist, has here taken the first line of a poem by Vera Brittain which was titled ‘Testament of Youth’.
The poem was written in 1918 and was written to her brother Edward Brittain. Four days after it was finished Captain Edward Brittain (aged 22yrs) was killed by a sniper on the Italian front. He was the holder of a Military Cross and later in this poem this award is made mention of. The medal was awarded to him for leading an attack, in 1916, at the Battle of the Somme, in which he was wounded.
The artist has used cursive lettering and achieved a scuffed effect to the individual letters by applying the ink to a grained paper (have a close look at some of the larger letters and you will see these rough edges – the ‘Y’ of Your’ at the top shows this best)
THE GREAT WAR 1916
MUNITIONS WORKER LOTTIE MEADE
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (3) 6.16
Meade worked in the Kensington munitions factory, which was a potential target for bombing raids. But, of course this was only a potential threat, a very real one was the exposure to the chemicals where often the exposure was to fatal quantities. This is shown out by the very sad fact that she died in 1916 of TNT poisoning. It is known that she had four children and that her husband, Frederick, was away fighting on the front lines of the war. She was 26yrs old when she died.
THE GREAT WAR 1916
TRAVOYS ARRIVING WITH WOUNDED
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (4) 6.16
This is a painting by the artist Stanley Spencer which has the full title ‘Travoys arriving with Wounded at a Dressing-Station at Smol, Macedonia, September 1916’. The artist had based the picture on an actual event he witnessed after a night attack had taken place in the Balkans. The picture itself is at the Imperial War Museum and I have had the pleasure of seeing it.
IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM
Item Catalogue No. 2268
“Travoys arriving with Wounded at a Dressing-Station at Smol, Macedonia, September 1916”
This is clearly not one of the Stamp Cards, but I have included it here so that you can see the full painted image as the stamp design only shows a section of the painting. The stamp section does not include the man with his arm in a sling on the right side of the picture.
THE GREAT WAR 1916
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (5) 6.16
By
Mike Sheil
In this very atmospheric photograph you can see, just, on the horizon, top centre, the Thiepval Memorial standing tall above the tree lines on either side The mist covered fields that dominate the foreground were the battleground for the war. The memorial itself is built upon the top of what was a major German bunker complex. This is of course the location we attended for the 100th Anniversary of the Somme commemoration event (see earlier posting)
THE GREAT WAR 1916
CAPTAIN AC GREEN’S BATTLE OF JUTLAND COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (6) 6.16
This medal was loaned from The Royal Marines Museum and it commemorates the first world war’s greatest sea battle, which also occurred in 1916. The engagement between the Royal Mail and the German Fleet, on the 31st May was declared a victory for the Royal Navy, although technically both sides claimed it as a victory because the Royal Mail actually lost more ships and the lives of more sailors (considerably more sailors, 6,784 British losses to 3,039 German). The British came out on top only because this battle prevented the German Fleet from spreading out to sea and they subsequently never left to sea to fight again during WW1 as a full fleet.
The losses in shipping, always listed in tonnage, was 113,300 for the British Royal Navy and 62,300 for the German fleet.
MINIATURE STAMP SHEET
THE POST OFFICE AT WAR, 1914 – 1918
THE POST OFFICE RIFLES
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (7) 6.16
Along with the six individual stamps the Royal Mail also issued a four stamp miniature sheet dedicated to the operations of the Post Office during the war. This first stamp actually depicts the army unit ‘The Post Office Rifles’.
The Post Office Rifles had existed for some years previous to the outbreak of WW1 and were at that time a territorial unit/force. After the outbreak of War, the existing Post Office Rifles became 1/8th Battalion London Regiment. Later a second and a third battalion were raised.
They arrived in France on 18th March 1915 and served with distinction and between them the battalions earned 19 Battle Honours. By the end they had lost 1,800 dead during the war, and had 4,500 wounded.
Sergeant A.J. Knight from the battalion won a Victoria Cross during the capture of Wurst Farm, in 1917 when the 2/8th lost over half their fighting strength, either dead or wounded. In total 4o gallantry medals were awarded for this engagement, although Knight’s Victoria cross was the only VC awarded to a Post Office Rifleman.
MINIATURE STAMP SHEET
THE POST OFFICE AT WAR, 1914 – 1918
DELIVERING THE MAIL ON THE HOME FRONT
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (8) 6.16
With so many men at war women found themselves doing men’s jobs in their absence. This cracking photograph depicts a woman using a horse drawn mail van to deliver the mail
MINIATURE STAMP SHEET
THE POST OFFICE AT WAR, 1914 – 1918
HOME DEPOT AT REGENT’S PARK, LONDON
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (9) 6.16
MINIATURE STAMP SHEET
THE POST OFFICE AT WAR, 1914 – 1918
WRITING A LETTER FROM THE WESTERN FRONT
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (10) 6.16
I do like the way that the full postcard image, stamp and the special hand stamp used to cancel the stamp all have the same central image. The full combination of the three aspects makes this a really attractive, and poignant image.
MINIATURE STAMP SHEET
THE POST OFFICE AT WAR, 1914 – 1918
Stamp Card Series PHQ 416 (7) 6.16
This time the miniature stamp sheet is shorter in length than the previous two issued (ANIMAIL and the QUEENS 90TH) so here the complete sheet can be attached to just the one stamp card (the previous two sheets needed two cards to be used, with the sheet cut in half and each half attached to a single card). On this card you have the whole sheet, cancelled first day of issue.
10/07/2016
GIBRALTAR
10 CENTIMOS POSTAL STATIONERY CARD
OVERPRINTED: Morocco Agencies
1889 issue 10 Centimos (Spanish Currency) red on buff card issue (Higgins & Gage Ref – Gibraltar – 16) overprinted for use in the Morocco Agencies. Although I can find the original Gibraltar card in the catalogue I was unable to find this overprinted version. Although these are plain looking things I am rather fond of collecting them.
10/07/2016
DITCH BLAIR!
OPPOSE WAR ON IRAQ
Published by
CYNICURE CARDS
No. 5 in a series
“Tony Blair has staked his political survival on an issue where the vast majority of British people disagree with him”
(Text from reverse side of postcard)
This postcard was issued prior to the actual Iraq war commencing and shows that there was an Anti-War movement. It also makes use of the then perceived idea of Blair being President Bush’s poodle (the Blair poodle is standing on the plinth with the two headed Bush/Blair).
With Tony Blair again making the front pages of the newspapers this week, not that I suspect he is too happy about it this time, in respect to the publication of the Chilcot Report, this old postcard seems to have just as much relevance now as it did back then.
10/07/2016
KING EDWARD VIII
DEFINITIVE STAMPS USED FIRST DAY OF ISSUE ON POST CARD
1D Red – issued 14th September 1936 (SG458)
2 ½D Blue – issued 1st September 1936 (SG460)
During King Edward VIII’s very short reign in 1936 only four stamps were issued in the UK (the other two being the 1/2d Green and the 1 ½d Brown). Here you have two postcards, the very simplest of postcard designs, used first day of issue with two of these stamps. Although the stamps are the same in design, with just the different values and colours, the release dates were different. Three of the stamps were issued on the 1st September, including the 2 ½d Blue value shown here. The 1d value was issued two weeks later on the 14th September, on its own.
First Day covers for these stamps are priced quite highly by Stanley Gibbons (stamp valuer’s and catalogue producers for the stamp collecting world), the 1d at £180. But, I fear my postcard representations here are way further down the value listing than that (way down, less than a few pounds each I suspect).
These are a good example though, of how the collecting of postcards can cross collecting boundaries. With these two items it is definitely the stamps and their cancellation on the first day of issue that make them collectible.
Print 