10/04/2023
EASTER GREETINGS
(Handwritten date on reverse side: Easter 1931)
Published by CIE & V
Printed in Switzerland
Ref: 196/1
My last Easter themed postcard for this year’s holiday period. The ‘Easter Greetings’ is embossed in gold ink. Another nice, related postcard.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
10/04/2023
A HAPPY EASTERTIDE
Unnamed Publisher
Made in the U.S.A.
Ref: SERIES 753 E
When I saw this postcard recently at the ‘Festival of Cards’ it was so cute I had to have it. It did help of course that this was in a 25p box. This has become my favourite Easter themed postcard. The handwritten message on the reverse side is dated Ester 1927, but the card was not postally sent.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
10/04/2023
A JOYOUS EASTER
Replica of the Antique Original
Embossed Postcard with Gold Ink additional printing
Published by
MERRIMACK PUBLISHING Corp., N.Y. (New York) 10003
Printed in Hong Kong
Ref: (030) 1793S
I was working yesterday on Easter Sunday so was unable to post more than one Easter themed postcard, but as it is still the Easter holiday period with it being Easter Bank Holiday Monday today, I intend to show you a few of my Easter themed cards. This one is an American modern reproduction of an original older postcard. This modern version has the addition of some superb embossing and some bright gold ink printing which can be seen here but not to its fullest visible extent. Reproduction postcards like this were once very popular in the US and you come across these quite often.
09/04/2023
A HAPPY EASTER
Published by
EAS
(Posted from Blackpool 22nd March 1913)
HAPPY EASTER SUNDAY EVERYONE
(I love this older Easter postcard)
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
07/04/2023
VESELE VELIKONOCE
(HAPPY EASTER)
Photo J. ZAK
Published by
VYTISKL TISK n. p., BRNO
NAKLADATELSTVI SVEPOMOC – PRAHA
Made in Czechoslovakia
Ref:
4387
8262-133
III/76
Original retail: Kcs 1,-
Across Europe for decades, you could find simple postcards like this which depict the classic easter symbol of the decorated egg. The more-simple designs like this one were often from what were then communist controlled countries and areas and this one here was from Czechoslovakia. The ‘PRAHA’ listed above refers to Prague (I have had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful city and can recommend it).
31/03/2023
BACARDI RUM
ORIGINAL BACARDI RUM ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE 1930’s
Official Bacardi Rum Advertising Postcard
There is a strong interest in advertising postcards both old and modern. Quite often you find interesting older advertising posters depicted on modern postcard issues as companies and postcard publishers know that we all love that feeling of nostalgia we get when we see good old posters and artwork used by long running products. This piece of artwork is colourful and has content which could also place it in the glamour category as well. A nice modern postcard.
BACARDI RUM
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR THIS ADVERTISEMENT RAN IN CUBA AND CARRIED THE MESSAGE “HAPPY EASTER AND A ‘SPEEDY VICTORY”
Official Bacardi Rum Advertising Postcard
BACARDI RUM
ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE 1940’s OF PARACHUTE GIRL LANDING WHERE THE ALLIES WERE, WITH HER LOOT OF BACARDI
Official Bacardi Rum Advertising Postcard
These Bacardi Postcards were issued sometime in the 1990's.
29/03/2023
LILLE – LA BOURSE – ND Photo
No Named Publisher
Ref: 26
Posted from Indochina in 1902
FRONT: HAIPHONG, TONKIN date cancellation 22nd January 1902
REVERSE: TIEN-YEN, TONKIN date cancellation 21ST January 1902
& LILLIE, NORD [North] date cancellation 25th February 1902
This is a postcard depicting a street scene from Lille, France which was clearly taken to Indochina and posted back to Lille. Both Tien-Yen and Haiphong are locations both now found in modern Vietnam, in the Northern part of the country.
Posted in 1902 the stamp applied appears to be, if my research is correct, reference SG 10 D 10c black on lilac with blue INDO-CHINE in box. The stamp without the Indochina addition was originally issued in France in 1876 as reference SG 284.
The postcard itself is a nice early French issue, but it is the usage which lifts this postcard into a different realm and increases its value (although not tremendously). So, a nice card with interesting postal history and I suspect almost certainly produced by a collector of some sort as no written message has applied. Was this posted by a collector? I think there is a good chance that either the sender was or the lady that received it was.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
24/03/2023
ORANG-UTANS – MEN OF THE FOREST
On Channel TEN in May 2000
WSPA
World Society for the Protection of Animals
This is Rimbo. He saw his mother killed by poachers.
Photograph by Belinda Pratten
Published by
AVANT-CARD AUSTRALIA
(Free Card)
Ref: 2000 # 4295
This postcard is from my television collection as it advertises an Australian Channel TEN programme. Having said that I do think that despite the awfulness of the story behind this photograph it is a lovely photo of what are the closest looking creatures to ourselves, which is why I am always so surprised that humans have treated these lovely animals with so much cruelty. These Orang-utans have been critically endangered for decades now although there are many projects to try and save the species. I do hope that these succeed and that these slow and peaceful looking animals remain for future people to see and enjoy, hopefully in the wild.
22/03/2023
CHILDREN’S ZOO
Published by
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON
I have a collection of London Zoo postcards so when I saw this one, I had to buy it. It is a very simple postcard, but I like it.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
14/03/2023
SAUMUR 3e SALON de la CARTE POSTALE
AU PERISTYLE DU THEATRE
14 DECEMBRE 1986
Artwork by
JEAN A. MERCIER
Official Post Card Fair Postcard
Published for event
Postcard fair postcards were once a major collecting theme with cards issued for almost every postcard fair event. Sadly, that is no longer the case, but gladly there is the good news that there will be an exclusive free postcard for everyone attending the upcoming ‘Festival of Cards’ which commences its two day run this coming Thursday. This 1986 French fair postcard is one which I think is a smashing design and I do prefer these cards when they use exclusive artwork rather than depicting an older existing postcard design or image and this was often the case with the French ones from this decade and into the 1990’s.
If you are attending the upcoming g Festival of Cards, then pop by my stand and say hello.
11/03/2023
HENRY FONDA
Starring in
THE DEPUTY
Published by
MIRRO-KROME CARD by H. S. CROCKER CO., INC., SAN FRANCISCO
Ref: HSC-306
I have a number of cards in this series all showing stars of different, mainly western, television programmes. The original series of The Deputy ran from 1959 to 1961 and it was quite a catch having the film star Henry Fonda starring as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory. Also appearing was Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord a character who was a storekeeper and who unusually for westerns tried not to use his gun. The series lasted for two seasons with 76 episodes shown across the two seasons. Henry Fonda not only starred in the series he also had a credit as Executive Producer. I have never seen any of the episodes of this programme and I doubt that it appeared here in the UK (unless anyone knows otherwise, it was certainly not one that I remember being re-shown in later years here, the original dates being before I was born).
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
09/03/2023
ROY ROGERS
A STAR OF A.T.V.
Published by
REVEILLE FAN CLUB
127 STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1
This is postcard sized but does not have a postcard back. It is a card which I believe was given out at the location, or possibly even through the post. I must admit that I found Roy Rogers an unusual person to have been chosen for depiction on one of these cards as he was definitely more of a star in the US than in the UK, but I admit that I do like this card. The signature on the front is printed on which seems to be way these cards come as I have at least one more which also has a pre-printed signature on the front (see below). I think the collectors of television postcards (and perhaps also some film postcard collectors) are amongst those most likely to accept plain backed, or information backed cards into their collections. This is because many official television company cards were sent out plain backed so we come across more than collectors of other themes do.
RICHARD GREEN
A STAR OF A.T.V.
Published by
REVEILLE FAN CLUB
127 STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1
STANDARD REVERSE SIDE FOR THE ABOVE TWO CARDS
08/03/2023
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2023
WOMEN IN THE WAR; “ROSIE THE RIVETER”
Used with 1992 ‘Millions of women join war effort, 1942’ US postage stamp
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTCARD COLLECTION
Published by
FLEETWOOD (Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001)
Ref: No. 92-108
I have always liked these American stamp postcards produced by the company called ‘Fleetwood’. When I was looking for a postcard which I could post which in some way or other could relate directly or indirectly with International Women’s Day I came across this postcard and it seemed like a good contender. The artwork on these cards is always superb and of the best quality. This card also fits nicely into my military collection as well.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
These postcards always come with a nice piece of laid out text relating the depicted artwork and the applied stamp.
05/03/2023
THE SHOWBOAT AT NIGHT,
FESTIVAL PLEASURE GARDENS, BATTERSEA
Published by
VALENTINE & SONS, LTD (DUNDEE AND LONDON)
Ref: S.B.5
A nice postcard souvenir of the Showboat as it appeared at night in what I think is a ‘really nice’ photograph. I would probably have bought this postcard anyway as the image is quite appealing, but when I turned it over, I knew that I would have to have this one as it has a very nice cachet applied which I think lifts this card into a higher realm. All in all, a lovely combination of image and usage.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
Postally used from Battersea on the 5th July 1952. For me it is the purple-coloured cachet applied bottom right which makes this side so interesting:
POSTED ON BOARD
“THE SHOWBOAT”
FESTIVAL GARDENS, BATTERSEA PARK.
04/03/2023
A TYPICAL BUTLINLAND INFANTS PLAYROOM.
Photo: D. NOBLE
OFFICIAL BUTLINS POSTCARD
Printed and Published by
JOHN HINDE LIMITED (Republic of Ireland)
Ref: 3T 2
I love this postcard as it fits into my Television thematic collection because of the inclusion of Noddy on his motorcycle. Having said that of course, I also collect Butlin’s related postcards because, as I believe I have mentioned before, I went on holiday to a Butlin’s camp as a kid with my family a few times. I was much older than the kids here though so did not go into the playroom, that I remember anyway. My copy of this postcard was posted in September 1976, which was summer holiday time, and interestingly this one was posted from Minehead which was the Butlins camp we always used to go to, although I always remember having good weather here but it seems, from the hand written message, that the sender was having a spot of wet and cold weather We always joke that it’s the weather that is the good old staple of postcard messages but I can understand it if you were in Somerset, where Minehead is located, and had had bad weather throughout your holiday stay that you would want to moan about it. This is a great postcard and I think one of the more unusual Butlin’s ones.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
Posted 1976
28/02/2023
LACOCK ABBEY, WILTSHIRE
TOP: The North Cloister Walk has rib vaulting studded with carved bosses
National Trust Images – Andrew Butler – 52469
BOTTOM: The North Cloister Walk and 15th century Perpendicular openings
National Trust Images – Andrew Butler – 53077
Both Postcards Published by
NATIONAL TRUST
Official Lacock Abbey Postcards
Two postcards here just showing the cloister walk at this Abbey, but some of you will see much more in these images. Certain people will see some children sat in these depicted arches with others running around them. They will be wearing long black school clothing and I am sure people will say they are carrying books. Why will certain people see this? Well, the children they will see are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Grainger, as this cloister walk was used for the filming of a couple of the Harry Potter feature films. When I saw these postcards, a present from my eldest son and his family, I recognised the location immediately and was delighted with the connection as I have a specialised collection of Harry Potter postcards. I also have a book related to the filming locations used in the films and Lacock Abbey is included.
(see above for details)
TEXT BLOCKS FROM REVERSE SIDES OF THE TWO ABOVE POSTCARDS
28/02/2023
DE “PIET HEIN” OP DEN DAG VAN DE
OFFICIEELE OVERDRACHT OAN HET KROAN – PRINSELIJK
ECHIPAAR. 28 AUG. 1937
Rough Translation (and I mean rough):
THE “PIET HEIN” ON THE DAY OF THE OFFICIAL TRANSFER OF THE KROAN – PRINCELY ECHIPAIR. 28 AUG. 1937
(The text on the reverse side has some areas which are not quite clear enough to discern each letter, so I am not sure all the words are correct – in fact I am certain they are not towards the end - to make the correct translation – if you can help here, it would be much appreciated)
Published (and/or printed) by
N. V. BOEKHANDEL W. ten HAVE, AMSTERDAM No 192
Sometimes details of what the image depicts eludes me exactly despite research to try and work it out. Clearly there is a yacht called the Piet Hein (the name of an old Dutch admiral 1577 – 1629). This yacht was built in 1937 and is still around to this day, although it did need refitting in 1990. It also looks like this was a royal yacht and was a wedding gift to Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard in 1937 from the Dutch citizens. The yacht is currently owned by the ‘Foundation Piet Hein’. So, I have found out quite a bit about the yacht itself, but is this date the date the royal couple took possession of this yacht? That would be my thought on the date, but this not certain. Also, is there something important relating to the plane flying by?
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
ENLARGEMENT OF TEXT BLOCK FROM REVERSE SIDE
25/02/2023
THE CHANTRY, WAKEFIELD
Printed by
H. GRAHAM GLEN, WORTLEY, LEEDS
Postal used 1908
This structure, full name The Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, was built in the 14th century as an integral part of Wakefield’s then new stone bridge, a replacement for the previous wooden bridge which crossed the river Calder. A Chantry was designed to be used by priests to say mass for souls of the dead. This Chantry is one of only three that remain attached to a bridge like this. In this photograph the top edges of the Chantry look quite dilapidated and need of some care, thankfully, in 1990 a group titled The Friends of the Chantry Chapel was formed to raise funds for repair and maintenance. They managed to raise £100,000 which paid for full repairs or replacement of the stonework, a new lead covering for the roof and new lighting and heating system, so this looks much better today, so it is nice to have this postcard showing it before all these, probably much needed, updates.
PHOTOGRAPH
This modern photograph shows how the Chantry now looks with all its new stonework, especially on the corners. It looks like all that fundraising was well spent.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
The stamp has been cancelled with a nice HOLBECK S.O. double ringed circle dated 28th December 1908. I also like the message on this one and have wondered where Norman went for his holidays in the following year, and did he send any postcards.
24/02/2023
EXPOSITION DE 1900 – LE PETIT PALAIS
‘Exhibition of 1900 – The Little Palace’
Published (or/and photographed) by
A. TARIDE, PARIS
A nice early postcard today, one from 1900 when postcards were only allowed to have the address written on the reverse side. What we now know as the ‘Divided Back’ postcard design (allowing a message and the address to be placed on the reverse side) did not get invented until 1902.
This card is clearly French and was published for The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition), a world’s fair held in Paris between 14th April and the 12th November 1900. This postcard depicts the ‘Petit Palais’, or little palace, but there was also a ‘Grand Palais’ which also appeared on numerous postcards as this event occurred at the point when picture postcards were really catching on as a result were eagerly being picked up at the time. The quantity available is reflected in the price of many of these postcards today as they are not (with some exceptions) very expensive. This postcard here, despite its obvious age, only cost me 50p when I bought it.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
23/02/2023
20TH ANNIVERSARY VISIT OF THE FAMOUS
FLYING SCOTSMAN
JULY AND AUGUST 1993
PAIGNTON AND DARTMOUTH
STEAM RAILWAY
(Dart Valley Light Railway plc.)
Published by
DART VALLEY LIGHT RAILWAY
Printed by
BERIC TEMPEST (COLOURCARD)
I do like a postcard that is related to a specific event; a card dated for a specific period. Chances are that such a card has a limited printing and as such would be harder to source later than the standard cards which would have extensive selling periods. This one is clearly from 1993, which makes it very nearly thirty years old now. I do really like this card and anything depicting the, as stated, Famous, Flying Scotsman has added collectability.
22/02/2023
“THE SAINT”
Published by
KLASIK KARDS
Ref: 1567
This one is topical for me as I have been recording and watching episodes from series two of the television series ‘The Saint’, currently running on the channel ‘Talking Pictures TV’. I am up to episode 14 and I have been extremely impressed with the story lines and the quality (given its age) of the filming. OK, the fight scenes are dodgy as you can see when the actors change over to stuntmen, but that’s to be expected. Watching it now, I understand why the series was so popular and why it ran for so many series.
The image bottom left is from episode 13, which I had just finished watching, how about that for a coincidence.
22/02/2023
NEW MEXICO
HOT AIR BALLOONING
Distributed by
SMITH-SOUTHWESTERN, INC
(Printed in Korea)
Ref: 2358
With all the news lately about the shooting down of balloon like objects over the US I suppose something was triggered when I came across this one in my scanned selection. Obviously, I bought this card for the Disney connection as I like this Mickey Mouse head shaped one. Lets hope that if anyone sees this one floating across the US sky they don’t try and shoot it down.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
SECTION FROM ACROSS THE TOP
I like the Roadrunner logo used here
21/02/2023
BLACKGANG CHINE
Official Location Postcard
Published by
W. J. NIGH & SONS LTD
(Shanklin, Isle of Wight)
Ref: WJN2929
It has been some time since I last visited Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight, actually, now that I think about it, quite a lot of years as my kids were quite young when we last went here, although I have been to the Isle of Wight a couple of times since.
Although this postcard looks like it would be sold at the attraction, and it probably is, I bought my copy elsewhere on my last visit to the island which goes to show that this attraction is so popular, and well known on the island and with its many tourists that a card like this can be sold at other locations outside of the attraction.
This card would appeal to anyone who likes Dinosaurs, a theme which has its many specialized collectors, and few can resist a T-Rex, and those who like Theme Parks and attractions (not as many as those into dinosaurs, but a few). There is also a Blue whale included and what I take to be a mascot of sorts that appears to be a big yellow Dodo, which makes sense as they have an attraction called the DODO VALLEY. The Dodo is, of course, now extinct, and has been since the 1600’s, but people have had a fascination with the bird. I am one of those people as I have been interested in extinct creatures since I was young.
This may be a cheap tourist postcard, but it is packed with interest.
21/02/2023
WHY DON’T YOU DO SOMETHING?
I THINK I JUST DID!
Published by
COLOURPICTURE PUBLISHERS, INC (PLASTICHROME)
Made in the USA (Boston)
Ref: P55241
I have had this card for quite a few years. My last employment gave me an interest in crime related postcard images and I am fond of ones which put a comedic slant on it. The crime I dealt with nearly always came with some element of sadness, so it made a nice change to see some humour attached to it.
Although this card was clearly made in the US, I believe it was on sale here in the UK, which is not that unlikely as the ‘Plastichrome’ printing of postcards in the US was used by a number of UK companies. Having said that there is a simplicity to this design which would have enabled it to have been sold in either the UK or the US, and it is possible that it had multiple regions of sale.
20/02/2023
LE RETOUR DU NAUTILUS A’ NEW YORK
30-10-1959
Published by
(EDITE PAR LA)
C.S.N.T.P. (Paris)
This is a card produced to commemorate the return of the U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus to New York. The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was launched on the 21st January 1954 and was the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine. In 1958 it was the first submarine to go under the North Pole in a complete transit. Having looked into the history of this submarine I have discovered that submarines have a surface displacement (I assume a type of weight) and a submerged one. With the Nautilus this is 3,533 tons on the surface and 4,092 submerged. Decommissioned in 1980 she was designated as a national historic landmark and has been preserved at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Connecticut.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
I do like how the French stamp cards have another strike of the cancellation on the revers side as this allows you to clearly see the date which is sometimes difficult to make out on the front applied cancel, as is the case with this one a bit.
19/02/2023
BILLY THE KID
GUNFIGHTERS OF THE OLD WEST COLLECTOR’S CARD
Artwork by
LEA McCARTY
Published by
PETLEY STUDIOS
(PETLEY THE CONTINENTAL CARD)
PHOENIX ARIZONA
Ref: B83
I have recently been watching a series on television about the characters of the old wild west, a era of US history that I enjoy discovering more about. Each episode of the series details either history of one single event, often either a gunfight or a robbery of some kind (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s train robbery was one), or the life of one character. I’ve not seen one yet on Billy the Kid, but I will be surprised if he does not turn up at some post or other. When I find any cards which feature wild west portraits or images, I simply cannot resist them.
The series I am watching is called ‘WILD WEST CHRONICLES’ and is currently showing on the ‘Great! Movies Action’ channel. Check it out as its worth a look.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
16/02/2023
RAQUEL WELCH….. R.I.P.
Jo Raquel Welch (nee Tejada)
5th September 1940 – 15th February 2023
American actress in films such as ‘Fantastic Voyage’ (1966) and ‘One Million Years B.C.’ (1966). In this last film the actress had only three lines of dialogue but the images of her in the fur skinned bikini like costume adorned many posters which became best sellers at the time. In 1974 she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her appearance in ‘The Three Musketeers’ (a favourite film of mine as a youngster. I saw this one in the cinema at the time).
ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.
Film Poster
Published by the
LONDON POSTCARD COMPANY
13/02/2023
‘DRIP, DRIP, DROP’
From the film ‘Bambi’ 1942
Published by
THE ART GROUP LTD
Ref: 8748
DISNEY THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION
This series is quite a few years old now and was quite an extensive one. At the time they were quite popular but then, like many long series, the interest dropped off quite a lot. Now though, interest is high, and I have found that more and more people are seeking these cards out and come fully prepared with their checklists, which is something you do need if you are considering building up a collection of these delightfully well printed cards. They come in two types with one baring concept and design sketches of characters, sometimes in black and white, which are from the Disney archives, and others which depict full colour scenes taken from the movies. This example is clearly from the later collection. I have seen Bambi, at the cinema when I was a kid, but it is not one of the films that I have rewatched as an adult, perhaps I need to look it up again.
10/02/2023
TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON
WOVEN IN PURE SILK
Unnamed Publisher
Postal Used 1907
I picked up my copy of this novelty silk postcard cheaply because it has some damage to the top frame area, but it was such a nice card I grabbed it to have as an example because perfect copies can be quite expensive. Silk cards have a certain panache in the golden age collectors circle and I understand the fascination in them as they are beautiful, especially the first world war examples, a period from when these silk postcards became particularly popular and for which they are best known from. This one is an earlier card and was posted in 1907.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
Posted from Silloth, a Victorian seaside town, to Blackpool, another seaside town in 1907
09/02/3023
4-6-2 MERCHANT NAVY CLASS
BRITISH RAILWAYS (SOUTHERN REGION)
‘GOLDEN ARROW’
By
ALAN ANDERSON
Published by
J. SALMON LTD
Ref: 6 – 04 – 51 – 00
I love this series and it was popular with the cards being issued across various decades with different reverse side logos. It fascinates me that train postcards are one theme that collectors seem to collect across the various eras of postcard publishing. This is possibly because of the beautiful designs available, with the range of paintings being quite impressive.
SEGMENT FROM TOP OF REVERSE SIDE SHOWING THE LOGO STYLE
09/02/3023
BURT BACHARACH… R.I.P.
Burt Freeman Bacharach
12th May 1928 – 8th February 2023
American composer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer who wrote hundreds of pop songs with perhaps the lyrics “What the world needs now is love sweet love” being one of the best known.
Postcard
EMI RECORDS LIMITED
Published by
ROBERT OPIE
Ref: 01AN 15
ANIMAL FUN SERIES
08/02/2023
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte and Jeremy Irons as
Charles Ryder in Granada Television’s production of Brideshead Revisited
By Evelyn Waugh
Official GRANADA TV promotional Postcard
This particular postcard is a good example of why it is often worth visiting postcard fairs against buying on eBay or any other auction site. I have seen and been watching a copy of this card on eBay, which is priced at £25, which clearly is way too much, which is why watching is all I have done, but, having said that it was the only copy I had seen of this card before coming across this example on a stall at a Nottingham Postcard Fair in 2022. It is one of those cards which although not rare by any standards is a card you just don’t normally come across. So, when I saw it I knew it was coming my way and especially so as it was only 75p, which I thought was a real bargain price and lower than I think its true value price is.
I didn’t watch the TV series when it first came out in 1981, but it was a favourite of Jo, and we came across a DVD of it a few years ago and as it was cheap, I bought it and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it when we watched it. It also resulted in me reading the original 1945 novel which again I really enjoyed. Both are well worth looking into.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
05/02/2023
VIENNA WIEN
STEPHANSDOM
Published by
AUSTRIA ARTS
I recently posted a little selection of postcards depicting the Stephansdom in Vienna, all of which I bought on a visit to the city. I then came across this other card that I bought on the same visit. This one I had to have because it includes amongst its front images a picture of the first ever post card, which was of course released in Austria in 1869 (and I have covered these on a previous posting myself depicting some examples from my own collection). The addition of the postcard, a postal stationery post card to be more precise, does help, but to be honest this is also a very attractive looking design which catches the eye, as it did with me when I saw it in a spinner. This is the type of card that collectors are often not that interested in, but I think they are the ones which tourists love and are ones which make great souvenirs of a visit somewhere. This is definitely one of my souvenirs of a great couple of days in Vienna.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
05/02/2023
“THE SONORAN DESERT”
SMALL OWLS OFTEN UTILIZE AS THEIR HOMES
THE ABANDONED NESTING HOLES OF WOODPECKERS
IN THE SAGUARO CACTUS
Photo By
JAMES TALLON
Published by
IMPACT (1990)
Ref: #2049
The owl depicted here is not named on this postcard, but one of my interests is birdwatching so I do have a little knowledge here, even for the birds of other countries and areas, I know quite a bit about Florida’s birds for an example. This owl looks to me like it’s a Screech Owl and I know there is an Eastern and a Western species, so knowing that the Sonoran Desert is on the western coast of America I assume this is a Western Screech Owl, especially as this desert is right in the middle of its distribution (and the Eastern Screech Owl is not found on the western side of the US, thus the name I suppose – it would be interesting to look into what exactly the difference(s) is between the two species, probably not a lot I suspect).
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
04/02/2023
LEOPARD
By
GEORGE RANKIN
Published by
J. SALMON, SEVENOAKS, ENGLAND
When I first started collecting older animal themed postcards back when I was a child it was the artwork postcards depicting images by George Rankin which I first really fell for and started building up a collection of. This is not one of his best but it gives a good idea of the style of painting he used for many of his wildlife pictures. The wild mammal ones are my favourite, but he also painted some good bird ones as well.
04/02/2023
ZVEZDA SPACE SUIT AND ACCESSORIES
Made by SKOL, Used by HELEN SHARMAN
During the space flight on board the SOYUZ-TM-12
And MIR spacecraft in May 1991
Official SCIENCE MUSEUM postcard
Published by the
SCIENCE MUSEUM
Ref: 422611
I picked up this postcard on my visit to the museum last year and I believe that it is still available (I have no reason to suspect otherwise). There are dedicated Space theme collectors out there but sadly there is not too much modern material available so postcards like this are a great addition.
03/02/2023
NORTHWEST AIRLINES STRATOCRUISERS
– Finest …Largest
Published by
NORTHWEST AIRLINES
Ref: PF 16-A-52
(Postal Used 1953)
This is one of the postcards I bought at the large Antiques Fair I visited in Florida a couple of weeks ago. I love the look of these double-decked Boeing Stratocruisers and I find it fascinating that its history bleeds back into that of the military B-29 Superfortress, which the C-97 Stratofreighter was developed from and from which the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser eventually evolved from. This postcard here was posted in 1953 which is not that many years after the planes first flight which occurred on the 8th July 1947 (although the plane did not go into service until 1st April 1949, with Pan American World Airways). The planes were retired in the year I was born, 1963 and having looked up details on the plane I can see why they were discontinued as it seems they suffered from catastrophic failures of the propellors and there had been, apparently, a high number of in-flight emergencies and hull-loss accidents (13 hull-loss incidents recorded). Only 56 of these were built, 55 for airlines and the one initial prototype. A very unusual looking aeroplane and one which, despite its many faults, I find fascinating, which is why I bought this lovely postcard.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
03/02/2023
HAL OTTAWAY
80 HAPPY YEARS OF COLLECTING
By
RICK GEARY
Published by
HAL OTTAWAY
I received this great postcard yesterday in the mail courtesy of Hal himself. Hal has done such much for the hobby of postcard collecting and 80 years is really an achievement (makes my 52 years seem quite tame). What I like about this postcard is that the image is printed on ‘Linen’ styled board, something which is very much an American postcard tradition and I think it is great that Hal has used this format for his postcard. I have always been a fan of Rick Geary postcards and I know that Hal has issued many personal Rick Geary postcards over the years.
REVERSE SIDE OF ABOVE POSTCARD
31/01/2023
UNICORN
Overprinted along bottom in GOLD INK: FLORIDA
3D POSTCARD
Published by
IMPACT 3D DESIGNS
(Made in China)
This time last week I was in Florida, so aspects of that holiday are still much on my mind. Whilst I was there, I bought a couple of 3D postcards, but I have not yet scanned these, so I have chosen a card from a previous trip (2018 I think). This cards image does not have anything much to do with Florida that I can see, but it does have that added gold text along the bottom to make it more interesting to postcard collectors like me and to appeal to tourists looking for something different as a souvenir of a trip to this US state. Obviously, because of the 3D effect, these cards do not scan perfectly, which means that you don’t get the full effect here, but needless for me to say, but I will, this card is even more impressive in clear sharp reality.
31/01/2023
LE CERCLE FRANCAIS DES COLLECTIONNEURS DE CARTES POSTALES
‘GRANDE BOURSE D’ECHANGES
The French Circle of Postcard Collectors
Great Exchange (Fair)
11 DECEMBER 1982
Illustration by
PIERRICK BERTOT
Published by
The French Circle of Postcard Collectors
I don’t think any other country has produced such amazing postcard event artwork postcards as those produced in France, especially during their height in the 1980’s (The US does well though and probably runs in second place). I have a large collection of postcards related to Postcard Clubs and Fairs and have a personal fascination in those published in France, of which there are far more than many people realise. This one I could not resist as the artwork shouts out ‘French’ and I would have said this one was from France even if there was not the obvious French text down the left side.
31/01/2023
THE STANDARD “VANGUARD”
Official Promotional Advertising Postcard
THE STANDARD MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
This is a lovely early modern motor car advertising postcard. The Standard Vanguard range ran from 1947 to 1963. Now, I am no expert on cars, by any means whatsoever, but I have looked at images of the various phases of this car and I think this looks like a Phase II model from the period between 1953 and 1956 and that would sense for the style of this postcard and the likelihood of it being published. Here on this page and on my Facebook page I have mentioned my belief that these early car advertising postcards are shooting up in value because there is an increased interest, in many ways nostalgic, in the older cars of our parents and grandparents. I fully expect these cards to be more and more sought after as the years go past. This is a lovely simple card.
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