Novelty postcards
Written by admin on 26 November, 2009 – 10:46 pm -It was our Edwardian forebears who first took to decorating postcards with real hair, real feathers, glitter or coloured glass. It was they who first embellished them with silk or satin or gingham. Even then, gimmickry, it seems, was held in high commercial esteem. As the name may suggest, novelty postcards were not only produced by the 'regular' manufacturers of postcards, but other publishers, such as W. N. Sharpe of Bradford, for example, created a series entitled 'Fab Patchwork', whereby silk patches on the picture sides could be removed in order to make patchwork cushion covers. Callender Paper Mills in Ireland even manufactured card out of real peat. Max Ettlinger, a relatively short lived publisher (between 1901 and 1916) produced... more
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Erotic postcards
Written by admin on 18 November, 2009 – 9:52 pm -It’s probably true that the history and development of erotic postcards runs in parallel with that of erotic photography. Now let’s get things straight here, we are talking about erotic photography and definitely not pornographic photography. The erotic type shows its subjects in a sexually suggestive, or even sexually provocative manner, but does not as pornography does, show them in a sexually explicit manner. Prior to the development of the first practical method of photography by Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre in the 1830s, pictures of any description consisted of drawings or paintings. Of course this new technology did not go unnoticed by artists keen to find new, simpler ways to depict the unclothed feminine form. Although the Daguerreotype... more
Tags: erotic postcards
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Heraldic postcards
Written by admin on 18 November, 2009 – 9:38 pm -Whilst it is the case that small crests of towns, cities and counties do appear on topographical postcards, a real collection of Heraldic postcards is something very different. It is not unusual to find examples by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the vanguard of a particular theme and heraldic postcards is no exception. Then there are those produced by Ja-Ja. In addition to their Clan Tartan series of Scottish clan crests, Ja-Ja produced postcards feature the crests of many towns and cities, as well as England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish... more
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Greetings postcards
Written by admin on 18 November, 2009 – 9:18 pm -The production of folded greetings cards is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the early days of postcards, greetings postcards were produced in all manner of sizes to celebrate all manner of events. Often they are embossed and highly gilded with German examples thought to be the most desirable. US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping:... more
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Fantasy postcards
Written by admin on 18 November, 2009 – 7:26 am -This type of postcard is surely the most surreal. I think that one look at the title should tell you that. Expect the unexpected. In some cases these will be postcards that you'll probably have to look at closely to see exactly what is going on. From babies in pots a la Anne Geddes (maybe this is where she got her inspiration from) through Royalty and Heads of State represented by composite images, perhaps of scantily clad nubiles, to pictures of Pierrot not quite looking like he aught. A common theme in the Edwardian period was alphabet cards - famous actresses of the day posing against or draped around the letters of the alphabet. US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French... more
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Exhibition postcards
Written by admin on 17 November, 2009 – 8:52 pm -From the Paris Exhibition of 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was first shown to the world we have had postcards showcasing exhibitions. The first UK exhibition to have postcards printed was the 1891 Royal Navy Exhibition, when the first British picture postcard - a vignette of the Eddystone Lighthouse - was produced by the Post Office. After 1891 there was a rash of exhibitions - all of which appeared in some form or another, or were commemorated, on postcards. We had the Colombian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893, then in 1896 there were exhibitions in Berlin, Geneva and Nuremberg. 1897 saw Brussels, Hamburg and Leipzig take their turn, followed in 1898 by Turin. From 1900, when the next Paris Exhibition took place, to the beginning of WWI... more
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Disasters and accidents postcards
Written by admin on 17 November, 2009 – 8:15 pm -Humans have it seems always taken malicious delight in the misfortune of others. The Germans have a word for this - Schadenfreude. Many of the disasters to befall humankind in the early part of the twentieth century, from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent damage from fires through the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic to erupting volcanoes and the Paris flood of 1910, all were recorded on postcard by the larger publishing firms. Whether this is Schadenfreude or just morbid curiosity is a moot point, but such postcards are fascinating documents. Of course these are major internationally recognised catastrophes, other disasters have also been recorded on postcards, but by smaller, local publishers. These may therefore, be... more
Tags: accident postcards, disaster postcards
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Children postcards
Written by admin on 17 November, 2009 – 7:01 am -Where to start? The number of sub-themes is extensive, as befits a subject that is probably close to all of our hearts to some degree or another. So we have postcards depicting nursery rhymes, elfin games amongst toadstools, pantomime characters, party games, children standing, children sitting, children being good and children being 'not-so-good'. Many of the postcards in this category were artist-drawn and signed and as with any group of postcards, some are more sought after than others. As with most other postcard categories, Tucks produced a great number of child themed postcards. Perhaps most notable amongst these was their Swinging Dolls - a press-out design that was intended to give hours of fun for children at the beginning... more
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Comic postcards
Written by admin on 16 November, 2009 – 8:55 pm -The comic postcard is probably the most widely collected. They range from satirical pieces - very subtle in their appeal, so much so that even the most cynical will be driven to titter - to the robust sauciness of the traditional British comedy postcard, thank you Donald McGill. Davidson Bros. and (of course) Tucks were two of the very earliest publishers to showcase comedic artists. By the list of artists they used, it seems that they had the pick of the London Sketch Club. Comic postcards signed by the likes of Phil May, Tom Browne, Will Owen and Harry Rountree, to name but four are all desirable and priced accordingly. Several other publishers, notably Millar & Lang, Stewart & Woolf and C. W. Faulkner (again, amongst others)... more
Tags: comic postcards, humour postcards, postcards humour
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Aviation postcards
Written by admin on 16 November, 2009 – 7:06 am -Although prior to the Wright Brothers there were forms of aviation such as the hot air balloon, it was Wilbur and Orville's innovation which really allowed aviation postcards to take off (pun shamelessly intended). Even then, there were few true aviation postcards until Louis Bleriot made his first cross channel flight in 1909. This event seemed to grab public attention and a new postcard genre was officially born. Prior to 1909 aviation postcards had been reliant upon local photographers being in the right place and the right time and then being able to find a local printer wiling to publish their work. Consequently, aviation postcards prior to 1909 are in short supply and generally don't display photographers or publishers names. In... more
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