25/11/2018
STATE OF NEW YORK
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION
SING SING PRISON
OSSINING, N. Y.
Distributed by
GRAMATAN ART CO., INC., MT [Mount] VERNON, N. Y
AN “ARTCHROME” NATURAL COLOR CARD
NATURAL COLOR REPRODUCTION – CURTEICHCOLOR
ART-CREATION REG. US. PAT. OFF. [Patent Office]
Ref: 7C-K871
Sing Sing Prison (or Sing Sing Correctional Facility as it should now be correctly called, it underwent a name change to the Ossining Correctional Facility in 1970 but it reverted-back to its original Sing Sing name in 1985) is about 30 miles north of New York City on the east bank of the Hudson River. It is also a maximum-security prison (OK, correctional facility). The original name of Sing Sing came from a derivative of the native American tribe from whom the land was purchased in 1685, the ‘Sinck Sinck’. Prior to the death penalty being abolished in 1972 614 people were executed by electric chair in Sing Sing including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1953 who were famous for their espionage activities involving the passing of nuclear weapon research to the Russians. So, this building has a long history. This card is one from my Police related collection, because I include prisons and justice organisation premises in this collection.
25/11/2018
UNTITLED
Design by
NIGEL HOAD
Published by
HOUSE OF JORDAN
Ref: PC1-28
This card has some damage to the front on the bottom left corner and along the bottom on the right side, but despite these marks I was interested in this unusual card because it is quite a thick and it is also a bit weird on the reverse side. The design here on the front is nice, with the addition of a windmill which are always collectible, and it is designed to look attractive enough to be stuck up on a wall or somewhere else. So, it is perhaps useful that this card has been designed so it can be stuck up.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
This card has, or rather had a sticky patch in the centre, one which could have its backing tape removed so the card could be stuck to a wall or other place. This one here has been used at some time in its past. What caught my eye first was the sticker with instructions on it, when I saw this it was something I had not seen before, so despite the minor damage I wanted it for my novelty collection.
24/11/2018
ELOISE
By
JOSH KIRBY
(ARROW BOOKS 1978)
Published by
CLOUDED TIGER CARDS
Ref: JK 263
(1st Edition)
I found a load of these ‘Clouded Tiger’ science fiction artwork (from science fiction book covers, mostly) on sale in Ipswich back in 1988, and they had been around for some years prior to this I believe, so the cards from this series are quite old now. These rarely turn up these days and if the seller knows what they are they should cost you somewhere between £2.50 and £5 depending on the card in the series. This one is nearer the £2.50 - £3.50 end, if you can find one (there is just the one Kirby card from this set currently on sale on eBay, and it’s not this one, but one from the same catalogue value band – JK 262 – and this one is priced at £3.71 + £2.34 postage from the US – See below).
24/11/2018
STAR WARS
REBEL ASSAULT II
THE HIDDEN EMPIRE
PLAYSTATION
Published by
BOOMERANG MEDIA
Free Rack Advertising Postcard
This computer game came out in 1995, so logic says that this postcard is from that same time. I remember picking up copies of this postcard from the racks at the time for free, although I have seen copies on eBay priced at £2+, but I think this is really a 50p - £1 card.
I have chosen this one today because for the best part of this morning and the early afternoon I was surrounded by Star Wars characters at the Birmingham’s MCM Comic-Con event. I also obtained some very nice artist cards which depict some Star Wars characters and I am looking forward to putting these on the webpage sometime over the next couple of weeks.
23/11/2018
Tomorrow (Saturday 24th) I shall be attending the Comic-Con event being held at the NEC Birmingham. I hope to find some unusual postcards here, maybe even some older ones, but I will also accept any new issues as well. My attendance at his event may affect my ability to make a posting here, but I will try.
23/11/2018
TRANSFORMERS
SEASON 3 AND SEASON 4
DVD EXCLUSIVE FREE POSTCARDS
Official postcard set which came free with the DVD release of season 3 and 4 of the animated TV series
DVD and Postcards by copyright of:
HASBRO CONSUMER PRODUCTS
&
METRODOME
FAR LEFT or TOP LEFT
MENASOR
By
ANDREW WILDMAN
NEAR LEFT or TOP RIGHT
GALVATRON
By
ANDREW WILDMAN.
Tomorrow I shall be attending the COMIC-CON BIRMINGHAM event being held at the NEC – BIRMINGHAM. Whilst here I expect to see a whole range of people dressed as characters from popular science fiction series’ and films. This will include some people dressed as Transformers from either the animated TV series or the well-known and popular (although not with film critics) feature films.
At this large event I shall also be looking out for any unusual postcards, old and new. I have my fingers crossed that I will find at least a few.
TRANSFORMERS
SEASON 3 AND SEASON 4
DVD EXCLUSIVE FREE POSTCARDS
Official postcard set which came free with the DVD release of season 3 and 4 of the animated TV series
DVD and Postcards by copyright of:
HASBRO CONSUMER PRODUCTS
&
METRODOME
FAR LEFT or TOP LEFT
DEFENSOR
By
ANDREW WILDMAN
NEAR LEFT or TOP RIGHT
RODIMUS PRIME
By
ANDREW WILDMAN.
TRANSFORMERS
SEASON 3 AND SEASON 4
DVD EXCLUSIVE FREE POSTCARDS
Official postcard set which came free with the DVD release of season 3 and 4 of the animated TV series
DVD and Postcards by copyright of:
HASBRO CONSUMER PRODUCTS
&
METRODOME
FAR LEFT or TOP LEFT
COMPETITION DESIGN ENTRY
By
BILL GILSON
TRANSFORMERSDVD.COM ART COMPETITION WINNER
15+ AGE CATEGORY
NEAR LEFT or TOP RIGHT
COMPETITION DESIGN ENTRY
By
ISABEL MOSTRAN
TRANSFORMERSDVD.COM ART COMPETITION WINNER
9 - 15 AGE CATEGORY
22/11/2018
2010 FAKENHAM
FARMER’S MARKET
Calendar card with dates for each monthly event
Picture:
GRESSENHALL FARM & WORKHOUSE HARVESTERS – GREAT MASSINGHAM
Official Promotional Postcard
I thought this was a great way of advertising a farmers’ market, but I would have liked to have know when the photograph used was taken, although I accept that this was not important to those who designed this card. I expect this was free initially, although if you collect farming as a theme this will cost you a few pennies from a dealer now, it is nearly ten years old now after all.
22/11/2018
BUFFALO BILL’S WILD WEST
NEW YORK POSTER
AND POSTCARD SHOW
24TH & 25TH MARCH 1984
Official Postcard issued to promote event
The New York Poster and Postcard Show’s were promoted by the issuing of some cracking postcard designs, which, naturally enough I suppose, depict old postcards. I have had this one here for a long time, I think I bought it back in the late 1980’s from a specialist dealer. It cost me £1.50 back then, but unfortunately it is not worth a great deal more these days (perhaps £2, although more on eBay I suspect).
I saw this one when I was recently flicking through an album of postcard show related postcards. I think it caught my eye because only a few weeks before I had been standing at the graveside of Buffalo Bill. So, when I saw the poster depicted here, I knew I had to scan it and add it here.
21/11/2018
THE PIER PAVILION & CULVER CLIFFS
SANDOWN, I of W [Isle of Wight]
Published by
NIGH’S of Ventnor
Ref: 5742
Even if this postcard had been postally used, which always helps with dating, looking at the cars which are lined up along the promenade I would have guessed that this photograph was taken in the 1950’s. These photographic view postcards from the 1950’s have become more and more collectible as the years pass by as collectors realise that they are historical images which are now nearly 70 years old.
21/11/2018
BLACKPOOL ILLUMINATIONS
Published by
BAMFORTH & CO. LTD, HOLMFIRTH, YORKSHIRE
In their:
‘COLOR GLOSS’ VIEW SERIES
Printed in Holland
Apparently, Christmas is just around the corner, or so people keep telling me, but personally I still think it is a way off and I’ve got lots planned before it comes around, but in the spirit of good will I give you this Blackpool Illuminations postcard. I have only been to Blackpool twice, once for a one- day sci-fi convention (I saw very little of the town on this trip) and once to visit a Doctor Who museum which was once there (you can probably spot a trend here, he says laughing).
21/11/2018
STRIDING EDGE,
HELVELLYN
Photograph by
G. P. ABRAHAM Ltd, Keswick
Unknown Publisher – but this may have been published by G. P. Abraham Ltd
This is a great photograph of one of Britain’s famous hiking routes. I know about this one because I, when I was much younger, hiked along Striding Edge, which is in the Lake District and where I had the pleasure of doing several hikes when I was a Venture Scout. Helvellyn itself is England’s third highest mountain.
21/11/2018
CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE,
BY NIGHT,
BRISTOL
Published by
COLOURMASTER INTERNATIONAL
Printed by
PHOTO PRECISION LIMITED,
ST IVES, HUNTINGDON
Ref: PT6434
(BSL 171)
I liked this postcard image because I think the photographer has caught some of the beauty of this bridge combined with the attractiveness of the lights thus making this a more unusual image of a bridge which can be found on many other postcards.
21/11/2018
ROMA [Rome]
NAVONA SQUARE
(Piazza Navona)
Bookmark Styled Postcard
Published by
ED. BELVEDERE – ROMA
Ref: 22
Despite its unusual shape this does have a full postcard reverse, in fact it was used as a competition entry postcard from Kingston-Upon-Thames in 1995. The image side shows the famous fountain in Rome which I have had the pleasure of seeing. The fountain of the four rivers was designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X. I rested briefly by the side of this fountain whilst we were on a walking tour of Rome. This thin postcard almost looks to me as if someone has chopped the top half of the card off, but thats not the case, this is the full postcard as printed and cut.
21/11/2018
A MAP OF KENT
BEING KNOWN AS THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND
Published by
COLOURMASTER INTERNATIONAL
Printed by
PHOTO PRECISION LIMITED., ST IVES, HUNTINGDON
This is the type of map which was once quite popular and could be found at almost any holiday location in the UK. A map design which incorporates lots of little images of buildings and people. On this design you get smugglers, a Roman soldier and pilgrims travelling on the Pilgrims Way. I know Kent well and have travelled within it many times, so I know a lot of the locations listed here. Maidstone is quite close to the centre of this map and next year I am giving a display to the Philatelic Society located here.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
The 5 ½ p Machin Queens head stamp has been cancelled with a special slogan cancellation: ‘CATCH THE SUN IN THANET AT BROADSTAIRS, MARGATE, RAMSGATE’ dated 22nd July 1975. This slogan cancel was used for many years and was used locally from 14th October 1973 to 4th April 1976, so copies of this slogan hand stamp often turn up and I have seen many on postcard.
21/11/2018
NORTH OF SCOTLAND
Published by
J. B. WHITE, LTD., DUNDEE
Ref: A7144
I find it inexplicable that the collecting of map postcards has dropped off so much in the past 15 years or so, but they have ‘definitely’ lost their popularity. Personally, I find these to be attractive and often cleverly designed images, although this one is more functional than many of the ones which are also covered with little images of buildings, people and animals.
21/11/2018
BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Publisher not known (damage to the reverse side down the centre has obliterated the publisher details)
Ref: FH138
I found this card in a box of cards I have had in storage for some time and which I took out yesterday to have a look through. This one caught my eye because I got to visit the Grand Canyon last month.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOBE POSTCARD
The Albert Einstein 8c US postage stamp has been cancelled with a ‘GRAND CANYON AZ [Arizona] slogan cancel featuring Smokey the bear and his famous saying ‘REMEMBER, ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES’. This is a topical theme what with the recent horrific forest fires in California. This is a lovely cancellation and it has been nicely struck here on this card.
21/11/2018
CYPRESS GARDENS
FLORIDA
Printed by
FLORIDA NATURAL COLOR, INC, MIAMI, FLORIDA
Published by
KOPPEL COLOR CARDS
HAWTHORNE, N. J
Ref: FNC-4308
48130
This was a beautiful attraction in Orlando, Florida area, but if you visit here now you will be ‘Lego-land’. I’ve not been, but I suspect it has changed very much.
21/11/2018
ADMIRALTY ARCH,
LONDON
Published by
J. SALMON., SEVENOAKS
Ref: 1 -42 – 02 – 19
If you want to start a cheap collection then the postcard views of London could be a good place to start, assuming you have a connection with the city. I doubt there is a landmark in London which has not appeared on postcard.
When I last stayed in London, I could see the Admiralty Arch, or at least the top of it, from my hotel window.
21/11/2018
RUTHIN
WELSH NATIONAL COSTUME – ST PETER’S SQUARE
THE CASTLE
Unrecorded Publisher – possibly ‘Colourmaster International’
Ref: PLC28418
Here the eye-catching addition to the local view photographs is a woman in the national Welsh costume, a common addition on many Welsh multi-view postcards. Someone has bought this one as a holiday souvenir and written ‘MAY 1984’ on the reverse side, which helps date this a little bit.
21/11/2018
MORECAMBE
PROMENADE GARDENS – CENTRAL PIER
SUNSET – CENTRAL PROMENADE
Published by
BAMFORTH & CO., LTD (HOLMFIRTH)
In their:
‘COLOR GLOSS’ VIEW SERIES
This type of postcard is almost worthless, but it is of a type which was universally common, a range of views, often boxed, with an item or creature which was to draw the eye of the viewer to the card. This was often a cat or a dog, maybe a rose, but here they have chosen a starfish, a creature which instantly references the seaside.
This copy was posted in 1975 using a 5 ½ purple MACHIN Queens head stamp.
21/11/2018
BEN & JERRY’S
VERMONT’S FINEST ICE CREAM & FROZEN YOGURT
Published by
BUY MONTHLY PUBLISHING
“The abandoned gas station, opposite City Hall Park in Burlington, Vermont, where it all began. In 1978, Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield patched the roof, put a rock salt and ice freezer in the front window, and began to make their incredible ice cream”
(Text from reverse side of above postcard)
The text says everything except that I love Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, especially their Karamel Sutra.
21/11/2018
HOBBY DRIVE,
CLOVELLY
Published by
RAPHAEL TUCK & SONS
“REAL PHOTOGRAPH” POSTCARD
Ref: 1.
I bought this postcard for the slogan postmark on the reverse side, so I had not looked to closely at the front which at first just looked like a wooded pathway. Then, when I looked at it better, I saw the man with his shotgun and dog on the left-hand side. Before, they sort of blended into the image.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
The stamp has been cancelled with a Torquay, Devon slogan cancellation dated 27th September 1946. The slogan reads:
BRITAIN
CAN MAKE IT
EXHIBITION – 1946
This slogan was in use between 9th September to the 18th December (with a late usage recorded at Crewe for 30th December). In all 350 dies were used for this slogan and it is not a very difficult one to obtain, although this one here is a nice clear strike. This is Reference 137 in the ‘COLLECTING SLOGAN POSTMARKS’ catalogue.
MARILYN MONROE
Published by
EDITIONS F. NUGERON
Printed in France
Ref: NBR7
(Although this has been printed and issued by the well-known French postcard publisher Editions F. Nugeron, it shows that the copyright for the image belongs to ‘USA CLASSICO SAN FRANCISCO, who are a very well-known American postcard publisher)
21/11/2018
VOITURE PANHARD-LEVASSOR
1893
Printed and Published for the:
MUSEE DU CONSERVATOIRE NATIONAL DES ARTS ET METIERS
292 RUE ST MARTIN
Ref: 171
Panhard was a French motor car manufacturer, and one of the earliest. The company was founded in 1887 by Rene Panhard and Emilie Levassor (Levassor was killed in a car accident trying to avoid a dog in the 1896 Paris-Marseille-Paris race), it ceased trading in 2012. The company had its headquarters in Paris. This postcard is another superb example of what can be found amongst museum issued postcards which are often the best source of the more unusual item on postcard.
21/11/2018
AKS SYNTHI SYNTHESIZER
EMS
Purchased in 1974 by Brian Eno
Courtesy of the David Bowie Archive
Published by
THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM
Ref: 120120
One of the more unusual postcard images from the series of postcards produced for the museums ‘David Bowie’ exhibition. This is also one of the large square shaped cards. I have been depicting the cards from this exhibition for a while now, but there is just one more to go after this one.
21/11/2018
HELLO KITTY
CLUB NOKIA
Published by
ZOCARD SINGAPORE
Issued in 2002
Free Rack Advertising Postcard
ZoCard were the Singapore equivalent of our (the UK’s) Boomerang rack postcards. This card here advertises ‘Club Nokia’ and the reverse side gave details of how to join up.
Hello Kitty dropped out of fashion for quite a while, but it is back with a vengeance and now anything related to the kitties is highly collectible again.
21/11/2018
ITALIAN ISSUED WORLD WAR II
PROPAGANDA POSTER POSTCARD 1941
By
GINO BOCCASILE
Official Published Propaganda Postcard
P.N.F. DOPOLAVORO FORZE ARMATE O.N.D.
(P.N.F. Recreational club Armed Forces O.N.D.)
One of the questions I get asked as a collector is “are there any postcards that you really want, ones which you have looked for or wanted to own a copy of for some time”. Up until this past week this postcard here was ‘definitely’ on that list. I have wanted a copy for over thirty years, and although I have seen one or two, they have been quite expensive, and I have lost out at auctions and one I saw on a dealer’s stall was priced well above the cards value, in my mind. My luck changed last week when I saw one in an auction and my bid ended up being the winning one.
My interest in this particular-design is the depiction of England underneath the two soldiers, one Italian and one German shown as united in the struggle against us Brits during WWII. Although I am clearly not happy with the propaganda message being depicted here, I have always found this image fascinating. In this image the British are represented by a rather nasty looking version of John Bull, here shown with sharpened teeth and an ugly evil looking demeaner. It is the Italian soldier doing the teeth pulling whilst his ally the German holds onto the nasty looking British icon.
The postcard was produced I believe by the O.N.D., which appears in the title above as part of the descriptive text of the publisher. If I am right the O.N.D. stands for ‘Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro’, which translates as ‘National Recreational Club’, and this was the Italian Fascist Leisure and Recreational organisation for adults which was formed in 1925 and which was part of the National Fascist Party of the time (although when it commenced in 1925 the O.N.D. was not designed to be a political aligned organisation in the April of 1927 its original creator was dismissed and the O.N.D. leadership was taken over by the Fascist Party Secretary and it became an auxiliary of the Fascist Party). Although many workers were organised under the O.N.D., by 1936 an estimated 80% of salaried workers, the political attempts of indoctrination were not as successful as those achieved by the German Nazi party.
The Italians produced some great propaganda postcards during the early years of WWII, and although I clearly and ardently disagree with the sentiment behind the issuing of these cards I still like to collect them when ever I see them priced within my budget (which is unfortunately not that often).
The artist of this poster design was Gino Boccasile (14/07/1901 – 10/05/1952) who was a supporter of Mussolini and produced a range of painted propaganda poster designs, including ones similar in propaganda content to this one. He remained a supporter even after the fall of the fascists in Italy later in the war and even enlisted in the Italian SS Division (for whom he also produced propaganda designs). After the war he was imprisoned and tried for collaborating with the fascists, but he was acquitted. His association with the fascists initially prevented him obtaining work and he was treated as an outcast, but he supported himself by doing pornographic sketches which, ironically considering the postcard I have depicted, were used in English and French publications. He did manage to eventually return to poster designing and was able to set up his own agency and produced some popular poster designs for Paglieri cosmetics, Iperchina Liquors, Chlorodont toothpaste and Zenith footwear. He passed away from bronchitis in Milan in 1952.