19/12/2019

CHRISTMAS 2019 COUNTDOWN

CHRISTMAS POSTCARD SELECTION

E VIII R PILLAR BOX,

BLACKPOOL 1936

Published by the

NORTH WESTERN POSTAL BOARD

Ref: NWPB SERIES 5 (b)

FIRST PRINT

I suspect your first question is going to be ‘What has this card got to do with Christmas?’ Well, I admit that this side has nothing to do with the holiday season, but as is often the case with cards in my philatelic collection it is something on the reverse side that is more interesting and, in this case also Christmas themed.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

This is one of a small number of these postcards which received a red over print which reads:

With Best Wishes for

Christmas and the New Year

from

The Philatelic Manager & Staff

NORTH WESTERN POSTAL BOARD

The addition of this red overprint does add quite a bit of extra catalogue value to this ‘particular’ card. Without the overprint this card, mint, sells for around 50p - £1, but these overprinted cards are £5+. All the copies I have seen also have the applied Christmas stamp and this MANCHESTER PHILATELIC COUNTER special hand stamp dated 16 DEC 82 [1982].

I obtained one copy via a specialised postal themed auction a few years ago, but I found a second copy in a cheap box and could not resist picking this one up as well.

Clearly the overprint is my ‘Christmas’ connection.

GOD JUL

Merry Christmas

Novelty Small Sized Postcard

Published by

SVENSK TILLVERKNING

I have enlarged the postcards image here for you to see, but as you will see from the below image, this postcard is much smaller than the normal postcard issue size. This has a great front image though I think. The Christmas connection is through the title on the reverse side.

ABOVE POSTCARD OVERLAID ON

A NORMAL SIZED POSTCARD REVERSE

From this image you can get a good idea of how small this postcard ‘actually’ is.

REVERSE SIDE OF THIS POSTCARD

MERRY CHRISTMAS

NATIONAL POSTCARD WEEK

6 – 12 MAY 2012

By

RICK GEARY

Published by the

WICHITA POSTCARD CLUB

FROHES FEST

‘Happy Holiday’

Design by

WILD THINK

Published by

MODERN TIMES

Ref: Best.-Nr. 2320-1163

Another great postcard picked up in Germany last year. I was really impressed with the selection of Christmas designs available in this country. Not all the cards are immediately Christmassy in their design, but I like some of these more than the obvious ‘Santa’ pictures.

PUGS & KISSES

Published by

PAPERCHASE

My daughter would love to have a Pug, but its not happening. Yes, I know, I’m mean, but we have done the dog thing and I like my ability to just go off on a trip without any real planning. We may get a dog in the future, but not for a few years if I have anything to do with it.

THE BOTTOM SECTION OF THE

REVERSE SIDE OF THE ABOVE POSTCARD

HO HO HO!

NOVELTY SHAPED POSTCARD

Published by

PAPERCHASE

We have done the ‘Cat’ thing as well… I don’t think anyone ever really owns a cat. I think cats just allow people to think they own them. I know our cat was its own boss. We found out at one point that our neighbour had taken in a stray cat and was feeding it most days… we then found out that this was our cat, who was getting quite large as it was eating at our house and next door, every day! With a cat, never believe you are in charge!

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE SHAPED POSTCARD

19/12/2019

GIANT PANDA

BROOKFIELD ZOO

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Printed for the zoo by

TICHNOR BROS INC

‘TICHNOR QUALITY VIEWS’

Ref: 64

I love panda postcards [ it comes from seeing Chi-Chi at London Zoo when I was a child. Pandas have fascinated me ever since], and I had been watching a copy of this postcard on eBay for some weeks, but $6 was a bit steep when put with a large additional postage cost as well. So, you can imagine my joy when I came across this card on stall at an antiques fair in Florida on my recent holiday. I was especially pleased as it was just $1, which for me was a bargain.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

19/12/2019

WALT DISNEY WORLD

2019

PHOTO-CARD

I find myself yet again apologising for another image of me! Every year that I visit Walt Disney World I get at least one of these ‘YEAR’ dated photocards. They can be obtained from a photo-styled booth in the area towards the end of the ride called ‘Journey into Imagination with Figment’ (it is not one of the better rides in the EPCOT theme park, and it is one you can normally get on with hardly any queue time – for reasons I have never been able to explain, it has been a ride we do every trip. Perhaps its because I get my photocard at the end!). These are $5 each, which is not bad, and I think they make a great souvenir of a visit.

18/12/2019

EDWARD KENNEDY “DUKE” ELLINGTON

NATIONAL POSTCARD WEEK

MAY 2-8, 1999

By

RICK GEARY

Published by

LOIS POWELL

Limited Edition of just 300

Another great Rick Geary design and one which would be of interest to anyone collecting music themed images. With such a small print run this could be a hard card to track down now, and I suspect it would be a few quid as well, especially on eBay.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

As you can see here, my copy is a very low numbered one – number 4. With any limited-edition numbered card, the first and last card are the most collectible, but otherwise the single figure numbers, and the lower the better, are the next best cards.

18/12/2019

CHRISTMAS 2019 COUNTDOWN

CHRISTMAS POSTCARD SELECTIONS

CHRISTMOUSE FAIRY

By

JUDITH CASELEY

Published by

CAMDEN GRAPHICS

Ref: XPC 4

CAMDEN GRAPHICS was once one of the UK’s major postcard publishers. I was a massive fan and over the years before they ceased production amassed a reasonable collection of their cards.

Collecting their postcards was fun because they numbered their postcards numerically from No 1, which makes collecting them ‘fairly’ easy, with one small exception group. Before they started from No.1 they produced around a dozen cards with XPC before a number. These XPC cards were the very first Camden Graphic postcards and they are not easy to find and are catalogued appropriately at anything between £2 and £5+. So, if you find one of these then you have an important card in both the Camden Graphics story and the modern UK postcard story.

IL Y DE LA MAGIE DANS L’AIR

NOEL FEERIQUE JUSQUAU 4 JANVIER 2004

‘There is magic in the air

Christmas Fairy until January 4, 2004

DISNEYLAND RESORT PARIS

Published by

EURO DISNEY S. C. A.

An official Disneyland Resort Paris advertising postcard from Xmas 2004 which gives details on the reverse side of special price offers. I also like the idea of Santa borrowing Dumbo to pull his sleigh.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Published by

THE ART FILE

Ref: AFPX24

Printed in the UK

London landmarks at night with a silver outlined Santa and his reindeer pulled sleigh. A nice issue from a couple of years ago.

CHRISTMAS ON THE RHINE

BASS’S WAR EFFORT 1914 – 1918

Printed by

JOHN MACKIE PRINTER, BURTON UPON TRENT

For

BASS MUSEUM

This is an unusual Christmas themed postcard which also has military content as well. Some of the most unusual and unique postcard images come from museum issues. This one is from a brewery company museum, the Bass Brewery which was founded in 1777.

This card certainly makes for a different entry in my Christmas selection today.

FROH LICHE

WEIHNACHTEN

‘Happy Christmas’

Artwork by

FRIELINGHAUS DESIGN

Published by

KUNST UND BILD GMBH

BERLIN – GERMANY

Ref: HAPPY LIFE

Bestell-Nr. 848140

Another German postcard from my visit to Nuremberg last December. This one has some shiny printed areas, the stars and the words across the top, which enhances its look. This is probably required as the image is printed on matt rough board, a deliberate approach which adds a different dimension to the card.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

LE VILLAGE ENCHANTE

DE NOEL A NEUDORF

‘The enchanting village of Neudorf at Christmas’

By

PATRICK HAMM

Published by

PATRICK HAMM

Ref: CARTE No 643

Limited edition of 2000

This postcard has some shiny aspects in its printing, the star and its lines, the boarder and the bow on one of the presents in the sack. This image is very typical of the art style of Patrick Hamm who was once a much-collected postcard artist in France and some other countries.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

This one has a French Christmas postage stamp applied which has been cancelled with a special Christmas themed postmark:

CHRISTKINDELSMARIK – MARCHE DE NOEL

BIENVENUE A L’UNION EUROPEENNE

67 STRASBOURG

24 – 25. 11. 2000

18/12/2019

JURASSIC PARK

LEGACY KIT 25TH ANNIVERSARY

COLLECTOR’S EDITION

BOX SET

1993 COPIES

Back in August of this year (2019) I posted a selection of pictures of a box set of memorabilia items celebrating the film Jurassic Park (see posting dated 13/08/2019 – tab ‘August 2019 Blog 3’). I bought that box at a Memorabilia fair at the N.E.C. Birmingham.

Yesterday I was in my local HMV music store when I saw this Jurassic Park box set. When I checked its contents, I found that everything was different, some of the items are the same but of a completely different design. So, I had to buy this one and add it to my other one. Interestingly, this new box set has two postcards whilst the other box set only had one.

The contents of this new box set are as follows:

1) BANNER ‘WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH’

2) TICKET – double sided entry ticket for the park

3) JURASSIC PARK PIN

4) LICENCE PLATE – these are highly collectible in the US but will be an unusual item to most UK people who have not visited the US and seen all the plates on sale.

5) T-REX STICKER

6) MR DNA STICKER – the character from the information film that is shown in the first feature film

7) MR DNA PIN

8) JURASSIC PARK STICKER

9) MAP – this is a folded map with lots of interesting information on the other side (see below photograph)

10) TRADING CARDS – 18 trade cards all about individual dinosaurs (these are a great addition to this box set and will make this very collectible to all the trade card collectors out there)

11) VIP PASS

12) LANYARD (for the VIP PASS listed above)

13) NIGHT VISION GOGGLES SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS LEAFLET – one of the more unusual items in this set

14) SIGNED [supposedly] LETTER FROM JOHN HAMMOND – an interesting addition to this box set

15) 2 POSTCARDS (in my opinion the best bits)

REVERSE SIDE OF MAIN BOX

GREETINGS FROM JURASSIC PARK

ISLA NUBLAR

POSTCARD

GET AS CLOSE AS YOU DARE

JURASSIC PARK

T-REX KINGDOM

SEE THE LEGENDARY PREDATOR IN HER NATURAL DOMAIN

POSTCARD

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARDS

Both cards have the same reverse format

LETTER FROM JOHN HAMMOND

LICENCE PLATE

MAP & INFORMATION DETAILS

This is one half of the folded map (I have not shown the map itself)

JURASSIC PARK

NIGHT VISION GOGGLES SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS LEAFLET

I think this is one of the most unusual additions to this boxed collection

VIP VISITOR PASS AND ENTRY TICKET

PINS, STICKERS AND LANYARD

BANNER (in its original bag unopened) AND TRADING CARD PACKET

TRADING CARD SET

THE ORIGINAL BOX SET PREVIOUSLY POSTED IN AUGUST

CONTENTS OF ORIGINAL BOX DEPICTED ON ITS BACK COVER

If you check out the items you can see they are all different in design

17/12/2019

POSTMAN PAT

THE STAMP SHOW 2000

EARLS COURT, LONDON

22 – 28 MAY 2000

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: STAMP CARD SERIES

D17

I believe I have pictured one of these Postman Pat label postcards before, but this one here was a recent acquisition and I bought it because of a very interesting addition to the reverse side…

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

Someone has applied one of the labels depicted on the front of this card to the bottom right corner, but without a doubt it is the John Cunliffe signature which lifts this postcard from interesting to superb. John Cunliffe, who sadly passed away on the 20^th September 2018, which was mentioned here on this webpage at the time, was the creator of the character Postman Pat. Which is why having his autograph on this postcard is such a good thing.

17/12/2019

STOP THE WHALE-KILLING NOW

Photo By

HERRON / GREENPEACE

Campaign Postcard

I found this anti-whaling campaign postcard on a stall at an American fair I visited on my most recent visit. I have previously posted similar styled campaign cards here on the webpage. This one is pre-addressed to the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries in Tokyo. This particular copy was not used.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

17/12/2019

STAR WARS

JEDI FALLEN ORDER

Published as a free advert promotional postcard

By

WALMART

When we are in Florida, we always visit a certain WALMART store along the 192. It is where we buy food, when that is required, normally if we need a picnic or similar. I have also been buying postcard/invite party packs from here as well. On this most recent holiday we were shopping as normal when I saw a promotional stall which had a stack of this postcard on it. No one seemed interested in this free postcard and when I spoke with the lady behind the stall, she said hardly any had been taken! She allowed me to take a small handful as it was clear they were not moving. Other people’s loss was most certainly my gain. I checked eBay today and there is one copy on there priced at £3.75 (but it has a £15 postage cost to the UK!).

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

17/12/2019

THE WORLD’S LARGEST CUCKOO CLOCK

At

ALPINE-ALPA

“OHIO’S SHOWPLACE OF CHEESEMAKING”

Published by

INDUSTRIAL PHOTOGRAPHICS, INC

Made by

DEXTER PRESS, NEW YORK

Ref: 22878-D

Apparently, this massive clock is in the ‘Cuckoo Clock Capital’ of Ohio. More detail about this clock appears in the text block on the reverse side of this postcard, which I depict below. ‘Clocks’ is an unusual theme, but I do know at least one collector who specialises in clock faces on postcard.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

17/12/2019

“ELTON JOHN”

ROYAL MAIL PHQ STAMP CARD SET

PHQ Set 461

(postcards that reproduce the Royal Mail’s stamp releases)

Stamps issued – 3^RD September 2019

(As always, I have my copies used with the appropriate stamp applied to the front of the card and cancelled first day of issue with a special hand stamp)

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Having The posted the ‘Gruffalo’ PHQ Stamp cards yesterday and said that I was waiting on one card from the Elton John set and the shipping set, Guess what? They all arrived today (typical!). Anyway, this means I can now post all the Elton John cards here. The set, as with previous music heroes sets, depicts album covers. This means that some are very good whilst others are much simpler in design, always an issue with this approach:

ELTON JOHN

HONKY CHATEAU

1^ST Class Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (1)

ELTON JOHN

GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

1^ST Class Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (2)

One of the two famous album cover sleeves that I really like. This is my second favourite cover from this selection.

ELTON JOHN

CARIBOU

1^ST Class Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (3)

ELTON JOHN

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY

1^ST Class Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (4)

This is my favourite of the covers from this set and it was also the first Elton John album I ever got to hear.

ELTON JOHN

SLEEPING WITH THE PAST

£1.55 Postage Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (5)

ELTON JOHN

THE ONE

£1.55 Postage Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (6)

ELTON JOHN

MADE IN ENGLAND

£1.55 Postage Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (7)

ELTON JOHN

SONGS FROM THE WEST COAST

£1.55 Postage Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (8)

ELTON JOHN

MINIATURE STAMP SHEET INDIVIDUAL STAMP

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 2018

1^ST Class Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (9)

The four individual stamps which appear in the miniature stamp sheet all show images from Elton John concerts.

ELTON JOHN

MINIATURE STAMP SHEET INDIVIDUAL STAMP

HAMMERSMITH ODEON 1973

£1.55 Postage Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (10)

ELTON JOHN

MINIATURE STAMP SHEET INDIVIDUAL STAMP

BUCKINGHAM PALACE 2012

£1.55 Postage Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (11)

ELTON JOHN

MINIATURE STAMP SHEET INDIVIDUAL STAMP

DODGER STADIUM 1975

1^ST Class Stamp

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (12)

I thought this was a great image.

ELTON JOHN

FULL MINIATURE STAMP SHEET

Published by

ROYAL MAIL

Ref: PHQ 461 (9)

This sheet was small enough to fit on a single Stamp Card, so its easier and cheaper for me.

17/12/2019

CHRISTMAS 2019 COUNTDOWN

CHRISTMAS POSTCARD SELECTIONS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Novelty: SILVER REFLECTIVE CARD

Published by

PAPERCHASE

What could be more Christmassy than Sloths? Sloths in Christmas jumpers… obviously!

TITTA PA TV3 ISTALLET!

‘Look at TV3 instead!’

Published by

CARD GUIDE STOCKHOLM

Free Rack Postcard

This is a great television related promotional postcard from my television collection, but then who could resist a gathering of Santa’s? Perhaps they are discussing going on strike for more pay!

FROHES FEST!

‘Happy Holiday!’

By

HANS BORGHORST (Shuttercock.com)

Published by

MODERN TIMES

Ref: CARTOONKAUFHAUS

Best.-Nr. 1115-8930

When I was in Nuremburg just before Christmas last year, I was amazed how many cartoon animal related Christmas postcards I came across. This is just one of them.

KATHE WOHLFAHRT

Published as an advertising postcard by

KATHE WOHLFAHRT GMBH & CO

Germany

When I was in Berlin during the summer, I visited this permanent Christmas shop and walked down the spiral walkway depicted. Anyone visiting this great themed multi-floor Christmas shop can obtain one of these advertising postcards free of charge. It is probably one of the best freebie postcards I picked up this year.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

A CHRISTMAS GREETING

Published by

J. WELCH & SONS

PORTSMOUTH

A nice and simple Christmas design which was posted in 1915, the second Christmas of the first world war.

REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD

This postcard was posted on the 23^rd December 1915 and it probably would have been delivered by the 24^th December. Can you imagine any mail posted today on the 23^rd arriving anytime before the New Year!!!