Postcard Mania

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 of the twentieth century as they assembled the pieces.  Other Tuck series include Toy Rockers, Merry Little Men, A Model Cottage and their set number 691 - Art Satin, not only a child themed set, but Art Nouveau embellished to boot!

Artists who are well known for their postcards featuring children or childish themes are S. Barham and the fabulously named Dutch artist, Henrietta Willebeek Le Mair.  Then there were Ethel Parkinson, Millicent Sowerby, Florence Hardy, Flora White, G. G. Wiederseim, Pauli Ebner, A. Nash, H. Marsh Lambert, E. P. Kinsella, Susan Pearse, Agnes Richardson, Margaret W. Tarrant and my favourite, Mabel Lucie Attwell.

It is worth noting that artists such as Kate Greenaway, Henri Toulouse Lautrec and Aubrey Beardsley, whilst creating some tremendous pieces of art, were never commissioned to do work specifically designed for postcards. Any postcards featuring them are reproductions - and are therefore perhaps not worth as much as might be imagined.

Tags: children postcards
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