POSTCARDS FROM KEW
By
GWILYM LEWIS
This is an excellent example of how to take the postcards of just one location and construct a fascinating book around them and the story of the location itself. This book manages to be interesting to both postcard collectors and people who are just interested in the location (and I am in both camps).
I had the pleasure of attending a number of confrences and training courses at Kew Gardens and I have fond memories of the location, so this book is a joy to both look through and read.
OLD ROMNEY MARSH IN CAMERA
By EDWARD CARPENTER
This book came with two sheets of 4 postcards, so 8 postcards in all. Fortunately, when I came across my copy in a charity shop it still had the two sheets of postcards inside (which can be unusual as they are lose and not connected physically to the book). This book was so cheap it was worth it for the 8 postcards alone.
ISLE OF WIGHT BOOKS
ISLE OF WIGHT PAST & PRESENT
Compiled by G. E. HOOK
This is my wifes favourite UK holiday destination and as a result we have visited here many times resulting in me collecting quite a few postcards from this island. I thus also pick up books which can help me with details of locations and postcard images.
Shown in this section are few of my very recent acquisitions.
AN ISLE OF WIGHT CAMERA 1914 - 1945
By
DAVID COULING
A charity shop find (as were the other books depicted here) so was worth picking up. Lots of images which I have used to match up postcards from my collection to specific areas and events etc. Never bypass a cheap location specific pictorial history book like this.
EDWARDIAN ENTERTAINMENTS - A PICTURE POST CARD VIEW
By
C. W. HILL
A small harback volume from an earlier period which has prices that are way, way out of date (I would love to pick up a Crystal Palace postcard for just 20p!), but again, it has illustrations worth looking at and it is written by a well known collector writer.
RUGBY FOOTBALL ON PICTURE POSTCARDS
By
BRIAN LUND
Issued in 2023 this softcover A4 book is packed with illustrations from all periods of postcard production. I was especially impressed with the large modern era sections.
I picked up my copy from Brian at the Woking postcard fair and was able to get him to sign my one (I do like to get my books signed if possible)
THE ZEPPELIN OFFENSIVE - A GERMAN PERSPECTIVE IN PICTURES & POSTCARDS
By
DAVID MARKS
Ive mentioned before my interest in all things military so if any book comes along which is heavily based on the postcards of any conflict then I am going to grab a copy. This one I obtained from the author himself who kindly signed my copy. This is another great example of how postcards can be used to explain and depict an aspect of history.
WORLD WAR 1 LOVE STORIES
By
GILL PAUL
This is more a history book, but it contains details, and images, of the mail exchanged between each of the listed lovers. These include a number of postcards, and although not a postcard book I love military history and factual books on how mail has been used during war periods. There are also many photographs and other details contained here.
POSTCARD GAMES
A large hardback book depicting the postcards sent by His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla.
This is a most unusual book with postcards from England and Germany included from the princes education and travels in both countries prior to WW1.
I picked this up at a Woking postcard fair for £10, I had never seen it before. All the messages on the depicted postcards have been fully translated into english, so you can follow the travels of this prince.
A HISTORY OF THE ALLIGATOR
By
DONALD D. SPENCER
There is nothing on the cover of this large sized soft cover book to say it is postcard related, but it is actually a book entirely about Alligator postcards. This was one of my major finds in Florida when I visited in January 2023. I found my copy in a shop attached to a Cracker Barrel restaurant. It is a fantastic book which I love reading and looking through (but then I love Alligators)
THE COLD WAR IN POSTCARDS
By
JOHN CLAYDON
I like this book, but I am aware that it has received some criticisms because of its layout, with most complaints being about the way that descriptive blocks often obscure parts of the illustrated postcards (in fact this happens a lot in this book, and I can see how this could annoy some people, but the information contained here overides this complaint for me).
It is a large paperback issue.
TRANSATLANTIC LINERS IN PICTURE POSTCARDS
By
ROBERT McDOUGALL and ROBIN GARDINER
If this is your theme, or you have any interest in this subject then this is the book for you as it is superb. I can highly recommend this one. It is a hardback book fully illustrated in both colour and black and white.
FANTASY POSTCARDS with Price Guide
By
J.L. MASHBURN
I had wanted a copy of this American catalogue for a number years so was pleased to find this copy being sold cheaply by a UK book online shop.
This book is heavily illustrated with black and white pictures of the cards and is sectioned under different themes. I collect mermaid related postcards and was delighted to find a whole chapter on these in this one.
FRENCH UNDRESSING - NAUGHTY POSTCARDS FROM 1900 TO 1920
By
PAUL HAMMOND
Packed with black and white images (with a small colour section at the back). It should be noted, if it is not already obvious from the title or the cards depicted on the front, that this book has a large amount of nudity, but then this is the theme of this book.
BIZARRO POSTCARDS
Edited by JIM HEIMANN
Published by TASCHEN
Taschen issue a wide range of books which are art and image related (including books of detachable postcards). They are always image based and often have little, or as in the case of this book, no text at all. This is just a book of images of what someone has considered to be a bit, or completely, bizarre. I show some pages below to give you an example of the inside of this book looks like. Also, this is based entirely on US postcards (as far as I can see) and note that this fact is noted not as a complaint as I love US postcards.
THE POSTAL MUSEUM: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE POSTAL MUSEUM
Museum Official Book
If you ever visit this lovely little museum in London then I recommend obtaining this guide book. It includes much information and illustartions, many of these have previously appeared on postcards issued by the museum and Royal Mail in the past. Besides giving much information this guide also acts as a nice souvenir of your visit.
TWO STAMP RELATED CATALOGUES:
CUSTOMISED STAMP SHEETS OF GREAT BRITAIN (SECOND EDITION)
Published by
RIDGEWOOD PUBLISHING
Otherwise known as 'Smilers', these are specialist stamp sheets (which Royal Mail ceased issuing and producing for others back in 2018, I believe). I collect these sheets and as such this is a listing I found highly usefull. There is even a few postcard entries in here because stamps from some specialist sheets were used on exclusive postcards by the Sudbury Philatelic Society, and these cards are listed (and depicted) in this catalogue.
BRITISH PRESENTATION PACKS (FIRST EDITION)
Published by
PACKS & CARDS
Clearly this is a stamp related issue, but as a specialist book this is superb, it is also sadly going to be the only edition as the company 'Packs & Cards' closed down some years back. There are one or two postcard related entries, but you would need to know what you are looking for to find these. If you have any intertest in any GB Stamp Packs then this is a 'must have' book.