My home-made desk calendar today features an image from a postcard - sent 110 years ago by my Great Aunt Eliza to her brother, Fowler Beanland. The view is of Fleet Street in Bury. I must admit, I don't think I have ever been to the town - an omission that I will try to … Continue reading I Liked Right Well
Category: Vintage Postcards
When The Song Thrush Sang
My calendar image today features a view of Throstle Nest Farm in Shepherd's Thorn Lane, Rastrick, which is only a few minutes walk away from where I live. The farm is long gone, all that remains is part of a vaulted cellar, and therefore this chance to see it as it would have been 100 … Continue reading When The Song Thrush Sang
On Discovering Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman In My Freezer
I found Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman at the bottom of my chest freezer the other day. Not, I hasten to add, the late and somewhat lamented Liberal Prime Minister (1836-1908), but the frozen carton of pie and peas named after him. Now who, in their right mind, would name a dish of pie and peas after … Continue reading On Discovering Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman In My Freezer
Watchman, What Of The Night?
In the main, I try to steer clear of politics in my posts; not because politics isn't important (it is, vitally important), and not because I don't have political views (I do, very definite ones), but I believe that the problems facing us as a society today are not so simple that they can be … Continue reading Watchman, What Of The Night?
Fooling Around In Keighley
My love of old vintage picture postcards goes back to my childhood when I would accompany my mother on occasional visits to her uncle, who lived in Keighley, the town of her birth. Fowler Beanland, who was always known in the family - without any trace of sarcasm - as "Uncle Fooler", lived in what … Continue reading Fooling Around In Keighley
Christmas
A seasonal image for the Christmas period: an early twentieth century celebrity postcard. It is captioned "The mother of The Missess Zena and Phyllis Dare". Zena and Phyllis were musical comedy stars of the early years of the twentieth century, and their mother was Harriette Amelia Wheeler. She was the victim of an unhappy marriage … Continue reading Christmas
Hearth
The 16th century Clough House stood on Halifax Old Road, just north of Huddersfield. Its grandness can be judged by the fact that under the 1664 Hearth Tax it was taxed on five hearths, which at the time was not just grand it was positively greedy. Sadly it was demolished in 1899 and now lives … Continue reading Hearth
No Message Required
This is a rather strange picture postcard featuring the Victorian and Edwardian entertainer, Marie Studholme. The photograph is fetching enough: she sits suspended in a hammock next to a table bearing a tennis racket. The table, however, also contains a basket full f some strange unidentified objects that look rather like a cross between a … Continue reading No Message Required
The Midget Gem That Is Lily Brayton
This midget gem dropped through my letter box yesterday, along with a dozen or so more old vintage postcards (is there a word for people who are addicted to buying useless ephemera on eBay?) I have never come across a "Midget Post Card" before, but they appear to have been popular for a short period … Continue reading The Midget Gem That Is Lily Brayton
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