There are few better ways of spending an evening than undertaking a pointless journey of discovery. I am not using the word "pointless" in a negative sense - I'm a great believer in pointlessness - but in the sense of an exercise that is an end in itself rather than a means to some other … Continue reading A Postcard From Randal Cremer
Category: Vintage Postcards
From Bookseller To Bookmaker In Two Generations
Whiteley's Corner was the name given to the corner of Bethel Street and Huddersfield Road in Brighouse, so called because that was the location of Whiteley's newsagents and tobacconists and their famous clock. The Whiteley family ran the shop for much of the twentieth century and it became such an established part of the town, … Continue reading From Bookseller To Bookmaker In Two Generations
It Wouldn’t Do For Mrs Read
Vintage picture postcards sent during the great postcard craze of the first decade of the twentieth century not only provide us with a picture of the physical landscape of our towns and villages at this transformative moment in time, but they also provide us with an insight into the everyday lives of the ordinary people … Continue reading It Wouldn’t Do For Mrs Read
Kathleen Courtney
Kathleen Courtney was an Edwardian actress who starred in a variety of shows and pantomimes during the first decade of the twentieth century. If she had been alive now, she would have had a large Twitter and Facebook following, but given her time of popularity, her photograph graced an endless series of Edwardian picture postcards.
Grass Is Green, Sky Is Blue
To prove a point I made yesterday, here is a hand-coloured postcard view the Lock-keepers cottage at Salterhebble from around 1905. The artificial intelligence behind this bit of colouring would have been a studio artist, but they would have worked on the same basis as their modern AI equivalent: grass is green, sky is blue, … Continue reading Grass Is Green, Sky Is Blue
Good Wishes Yvette
To Edith, Good wishes : The Edith in question was my later mother-in-law, who, as a teenager in Liverpool, would stand outside the stage door at the Liverpool Empire and collect celebrity autographs. The sender of these sentiments and the subject of the postcard portrait was the actress Yvette Anning. Yvette was a successful singer … Continue reading Good Wishes Yvette
A Pint Of Sherry And A Good Connection To The Wool Exchange
I scanned this old postcard of Bradford Wool Exchange yesterday and became curious about when it was built. I eventually found an account of the opening in the Bradford Observer of 14 February 1867 which I was intending to write about at great length and in considerable depth. And then the broadband service started playing … Continue reading A Pint Of Sherry And A Good Connection To The Wool Exchange
I Liked Right Well
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
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
alanburnett.com 