23/12/2019
CHRISTMAS 2019 COUNTDOWN
CHRISTMAS POSTCARD SELECTION
CROIX-ROUGE 1996
FETES DE FIN D’ANNEE
‘Red Cross 1996
Christmas and New Year’
Maxi Card
Published by
MODELE DEPOSE – EXCLUSIVITE O.P.P.
Creation FIRST DAY COVER – MARQUE DEPOSEE –
PARIS – CARTE PHILATELIQUE
I do like these maxi-cards from France and this one is made a little n ore interesting with the use of red ink for the cancellation. This is a nice combination of a Christmas stamp (with snowman and Polar Bear in a hot air balloon) and silk image, a snowman with a Christmas Tree, with the stamp cancelled with a first day of issue special red coloured cancel.
WHILE IT LASTS BE
OF GOOD CHEER FOR
CHRISTMAS COMES
BUT ONCE A YEAR
By
LOUIS WAIN
Published by
RAPHAEL TUCK & SONS
An “OILETTE” postcard
Ref: POSTCARD C132
“LOUIS WAIN’S CATS”
Another ‘really’ nice early Louis Wain cat design with a Christmas theme. I really liked this one and it was another bargain which I found in an antiques Centre in Florida over a year ago now. What I liked about it, besides the image, is that it is a postcard that was posted in America.
FROLICHE
WEIHNACHTEN
‘Happy Christmas’
DIE MAUS
‘The Mouse’
Published by
MODERN TIMES
Ref: Best.-Nr. 0103-1000371
This one fits nicely here in the Christmas selection, but the card is from my television collection as it features characters from the German TV animated series ‘Der Maus’ (or Die Maus). This has long been a popular series and it first started way back in 1971 so it must be popular for postcards to still be on release, and this card here was bought in Germany in December 2018. I think this shows just how popular these characters are (the mouse and the elephant have appeared on the webpage before as composite multiple postcard sets).
LA, LA, LA
LAMETTA
LAMA
‘La, La, La Tinsel Lama’
Artwork by
FRIELINGHAUS DESIGN
Published by
KUNST UND BILD GMBH – GITSCHINER STRABE 91
Ref: Bestell-Nr. 848175
D - 10969 BERLIN
‘HAPPY LIFE’
What could be more Christmassy than a Tinsel Lama? This card is by the same company, and on the same plain card stock, as the Moose or Elk card that appeared on the webpage the other day.
23/12/2019
A HURRICANE OF A POLISH SQUADRON.
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN (FEATURE FILM)
Published by
A DIXON – LOTUS PRODUCTION
Ref: BB18
(L6/8716)
From a set of 32 Postcards depicting scenes from the film
Somewhere in my collection I have a complete mint set of all 32 postcards depicting actors and scenes from the 1969 feature film ‘The Battle of Britain’, as issued by this company (there was also a special album to put the cards in which I am delighted to have a copy of), but I also have some postally used doubles, a few mint doubles and this one here which has a rather interesting usage.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
I bought this postcard as soon as I saw this great red coloured advertising slogan cancellation:
DOMINION TOTTENHAM COURT RD
BATTLE
OF BRITAIN
LONDON W.C.1
This is a 5d postage paid mark dated the 7th April 1970. What a great cancellation to have on this postcard. This cost me just 40p and was, in my opinion, a real bargain at that price.
23/12/2019
ROYAL SURPRISE #4
Photograph by
ALFRED GESCHEIDT
1982
Published by
THE AMERICAN POSTCARD COMPANY
Ref: 922
This company produced a range of black and white montage photographs featuring Prince Charles and the then Princess Diana. This one is the least controversial of the main three that I am aware of. The other two have a young pig instead of the baby whilst the second has a naked Princess Diana (this one is pictured under my Censored tab). This one here has the head of the President Ronald Reagan on the baby. This one is less controversial and a lot less expensive than the similar pig head one (which was banned in some places) but is still a collectible card.
23/12/2019
WORTH VALLEY
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN’S RAILWAY
Photo By
JOHN SAGER
Artwork By
JOHN HOLROYD
Printed by
COLTEC-PARKER LTD (KEIGHLEY)
For (so, Published by)
KEIGHLEY AND WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY
Ref: [this is where things get a bit complicated – see below]
Jenny Agutter is my favourite actress and through her I discovered the story of the book ‘The Railway Children’. The film version was filmed on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and I had the pleasure many years ago of travelling on this superb railway. So, when I came across this card, I wanted it for my collection. I found it on a dealer’s stall. I then found two more copies of the card but whereas most people would then disregard these other two I picked them up and examined them more closely. I discovered that each had a different formatted text font and a different reference number and on the last card different text as well. This is an aspect of postcard collecting which I enjoy so I bought all three versions. I depict below the three different reverse layouts.
REVERSE LAYOUT ONE
WORTH VALLEY
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN’S RAILWAY
Printed by
COLTEC-PARKER LTD (KEIGHLEY)
For (so, Published by)
KEIGHLEY AND WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY
Ref: WV200A
This would be the first printing of this postcard as there is just the reference number WV200A with no additional letter ‘R’ in the reference number and no year date at the bottom (see reference numbers for following cards)
REVERSE LAYOUT TWO
WORTH VALLEY
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN’S RAILWAY
Printed by
COLTEC-PARKER LTD (KEIGHLEY)
For (so, Published by)
KEIGHLEY AND WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY
Ref: WV200A/R
1995
Here you can see that the reference number does have the letter ‘R’ at the end. This R refers to this being a reprint. At the bottom there is the year 1995 printed, which was the year this reprinted version was released.
REVERSE LAYOUT THREE
WORTH VALLEY
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN’S RAILWAY
Printed by
COLTEC-PARKER LTD (KEIGHLEY)
For (so, Published by)
KEIGHLEY AND WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY
Ref: WV200A/R
1999
Another reprint, this time from 1999. I wonder if there are any other reprints from other years? Although there is no reason as to why there could not be other reprints, I think there were probably not any between these issues, its about the same time period between dates, assuming the first card came out around 1990 to 1992 then I reckon four to five years is about right to sell out of a printing.
22/12/2019
GREETINGS FROM DISNEYLAND PARIS
NOVELTY LONG SHAPED POSTCARD
Official Disneyland Paris Postcard
My friends Les and Arlene very kindly picked this card up and sent it to me. They are Disney fans much like me and Jo, and we met them on a Disney Cruise some years ago now and have maintained contact.
From left to right this image depicts three of the Disneyland Paris hotels with Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club and then the Hotel New York. I have only stayed in one of these, but it is our favourite and we have stayed there a few times now and that is the Sequoia Lodge. The buffet they serve in the restaurant here is superb.
22/12/2019
DISNEY’S
TARZAN
Novelty 3D Picture
Published for
NESTLE
Produced by
ADPAC (Made in USA)
I have already posted a card from this series, or what I now know to be a series (although I did suspect this was the case), on a previous posting. That one I had found at a postcard fair. This one here I bought through eBay, to add to the card I already had. I have similar sized and styled cards for the animated film ‘Monsters Inc’ which I know came on the front of a Nestle cereal box, so I suspect that was the source of these Tarzan cards as well.
22/12/2019
THINGS ARE VERY QUIET JUST NOW
Published b y
J. J. MARKS N. Y. [New York]
Ref: “COMICS” SERIES NUMBER 26
A nice American published comic postcard much in the style of the British postcards of a few years earlier. This one here was posted in 1912 from Indianapolis and has an unusual aspect to its message.
For me, it was the grandfather clock that appealed here.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
The 1 cent US postage stamp has been cancelled with an Indianapolis wavy line machine cancellation with the number 2 and the letter ‘C’ in the lines. This is dated 23rd October 1912.
The message is from someone informing the receiver that they will not be making a what appears to have been an appointment or meeting with them on the upcoming Sunday. The bit I find interesting is the bit that reads “GENE AND CARL HAVE QUIT AND I GUESS THEY WONT COME EITHER”. Quit from what? And why would this mean that they would not be meeting the receiver – Pearl – either? All very interesting and one of the things I love about written messages on postcards.
22/12/2019
UNTITLED
PEACOCK
NOVELTY – REAL FEATHERS APPLIED
&
EMBOSSED DESIGN
Published by
J.S.
I have always liked postcards with real feathers attached and I have found that the peacock was a very popular choice for this type of postcard. This postcard also has some embossing, with the cut down branch being embossed out from the card. This was a great little find and although it is European, I found it on sale in Florida at an antiques fair.
22/12/2019
2nd ANNUAL
DELAND, FLORIDA
ANTIQUES, COLLECTIBLES, VINTAGE & MORE SHOW & SALE
22 & 23 FEBRUARY 2020
Published by
ANGEVINE PROMOTIONS
It is always nice to find a free postcard on your travels and here is one I found in Florida last month. The card advertises a show in February of next year, with all the appropriate details on the card. What caught my eye were the alligators around the edge of the show advertising text. Because of my interest in Florida postcards I immediately knew where they had come from. There is a golden age series of Florida view postcards which had this alligator alignment as their boarder. These original postcards are very collectible and extremely expensive, which is why I do not have any copies in my collection (cards I have seen on eBay have been priced anywhere from $75 to $350).
I cannot therefore show you one of the original boarded cards from my own collection, but I want to show you how important these cards are in Florida, and just how many different ones there are. So, I have taken some of the images on display on the internet:
22/12/2019
IDRIS ELBA
Archival digital print
By
RICH HARDCASTLE
2013
Published by the
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
I was in London last week and again visited the National Portrait Gallery and found a handful of new issues which I had not seen before. I like to pick up any new ones which depict someone linked to television. This is the case here with Idris Elba who has a range of TV appearances to his name with perhaps the starring role as ‘Luther’ being his best known. The finding of this postcard is also topical as Elba appears in the new feature film version of the theatre show ‘Cats’, although the reviews I have been seeing have not been very good!
SIR TREVOR McDONALD
Archival inkjet print
By
SIMON FREDERICK
2016
Published by the
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
I was very pleased with this new design as I have always been a fan of the broadcaster Trevor McDonald and have enjoyed his programmes that he has done outside of his news broadcasting for ITN (he retired from the news show, for the second time, on the 30th October 2008). This is a great card for my TV collection.
22/12/2019
CHRISTMAS 2019 COUNTDOWN
CHRISTMAS POSTCARD SELECTION
“CHRISTMAS 2019”
ROYAL MAIL PHQ STAMP CARD SET
PHQ Set 464
(postcards that reproduce the Royal Mail’s stamp releases)
Stamps issued – 5TH November 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
This seems a good opportunity to post the royal mail Stamp Cards here under todays ‘Christmas 2019 Countdown selection’. Also, I quite liked this set and thought the artwork (by Hari & Deepti of Charlie Smith Design) was lovely and festive.
CHRISTMAS 2019
2ND CLASS
Published by
Royal Mail
Ref: PHQ 464 (1)
CHRISTMAS 2019
MINIATURE STAMP SHEET
Published by
Royal Mail
Ref: PHQ 464 (9)
LEFT SIDE OF STAMP SHEET
This is one half of the stamp sheet applied to one of the postcards depicting the whole stamp sheet. Because the stamp sheet is so long you require two of the stamp cards to depict the entire sheet, with the sheet cut in half and each half applied to a separate card (see below)
21/12/2019
CHRISTMAS 2019 COUNTDOWN
CHRISTMAS POSTCARD SELECTION
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
NADOLIG LLAWEN
Christmas 2019
Hand-made Christmas Postcard
Made and coloured by
DAVID RYE
David and his wife Pat send me a postcard every Christmas, and it is always something special. I always look forward to any card from David
CHRISTMAS TREE-REX
By
CHARLY CLEMENTS
Published by
BRAIN BOX CANDY
Ref: PO 8768
This one gave me a giggle! Only the two Xmas cards today as I have been in Canterbury all day and am a bit tired now (but relaxing and enjoying the film ‘Where Eagles Dare’, not very Christmassy, but what a great movie).
21/12/2019
MARTIN PETERS ….. RIP
Martin Stanford Peters MBE
8TH November 1943 – 21sts December 2019
English footballer and member of the 1966 England football team that won the World Cup that year. Born in Essex (Plaistow) he played for West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and Sheffield United.
IGRZYSKA OLIMPIJSKIE MONACHIUM 72
‘Munich Olympic Games 72’
REPREZENTACJA POLSKI ZDOBYLA 21 MEDALI:
7 ZLOTYCH, 5 SREBRNYCH, 9 BRAZOWYCH
‘Polish representation wins 21 medals:
7 Gold, 5 Silver, 9 Bronze
Published by
KARTKA POCZTOWA
Official Polish Postal Authority Postal Stationery Post Card
20/12/2019
WITH BEST WISHES
No Publisher or Printer named
Printed in Germany for distribution and sale in America
Ref: 203
This is a delightful golden age period cat art postcard which was sold in America. I picked this one up last year in Florida at an Antiques Centre. Unfortunately, the artist is not named, and the publishers have not printed their name or any other details on this card. This is a great postcard though, and worth every penny of the $5 I paid for it.
20/12/2019
CHRISTMAS 2019 COUNTDOWN
CHRISTMAS POSTCARD SELECTION
HAPPY CHRISTMAS SAUSAGE
NOVELTY MATERIAL (‘FELT’) ADDITIONS
Published by
PAPERCHASE
Our little sausage has a felt bacon jacket and hat! Pigs in Blankets is a well-known Christmas party food and accoutrement to the main Christmas dinner and we certainly be having them over the holiday period.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
(Dogs in Christmas hats)
Published by
PAPERCHASE
I found this card last year in the lead up to Christmas 2018. I used this one as my Christmas postcard in my December ‘Picture Postcard Monthly’ article, and as I said there, it’s a good reminder that a dog is for life, not just for Christmas.
GIVE BOOKS OF STAMPS
AS CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
1948 POSTER
By
P. VINTEN
Published by
THE BRITISH POSTAL MUSEUM & ARCHIVE
Ref: BPMA-PC-10c
Not sure many parents would be looked on kindly if they gave out books of postage stamps as presents! Still, this is a poster from 1948 and this was before the days of mobile phones and easy family contact, so more people used stamps then.
PLAY IT AGAIN, SANTA
By
JUDITH CASELEY
Published by
CAMDEN GRAPHICS LTD
Ref: XPC 8
If you go to the previous page and check out the Christmas selection posted on the 18th December, you will see a card titled ‘Christmouse Fairy’. On this post you will read about the early XPC numbered postcards issued by Camden Graphics and how important these are. They are also very hard to find. In all my years of collecting I have only ever seen one copy of this ‘Santa’ card and although I got it for a bargain price this does not diminish its scarcity and catalogue value.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
POSTENS JULEKORK 1999. MUSEVISA
Design By
ENZO FINGER DESIGN
Large Sized Postcard
This is the 1999 Postcard which was sent out by the Norway Postal Authority to all their subscription clients. The only way to get a copy of this postcard at the time was to be a collector of Norway stamps. Fortunately, these sometimes become available as those who are only interested in stamps let go of them.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
The stamp image is printed directly onto this postcard, thus making it a postal stationery post card. The pre-printed stamp is even cancelled with a special cancellation (dated 13.12.99). The cards are sometimes unpopular with some collectors because of their size (slightly over A5 size), but I like these cards and the size is not an issue with me.
UNTITLED
NOVELTY FELT/MATERIAL ADDITIONS TO POSTCARD
Published by
PAPERCHASE
Copyright e-co
Printed on recycled paper
One of the unusual postcards published by paperchase in 2018 for that years Christmas time. It’s not one of my favourites but I am a collector of novelty postcards, so it slipped into my collection.