“Sorry I could not see you this morning” was the brief message from FW to Mr S. Mellor of Leeds in July 1903. The choice of picture postcard is an interesting one: not only does it depict a fine Victorian building, but it also happens to be my old school. Most interesting of all, however, … Continue reading Swift Sorrow
Tag: Vintage Postcards
Questions
Was Connie staying at the Midland Hotel in Bradford? What examination was she due to take on the 3rd of April? Did she pass? Questions, questions, questions. These days, it would be a WhatsApp message, with the answer on the next line. We would be left with no intriguing questions - and no delightful illustration … Continue reading Questions
Gone Shopping For History
I know this photo was taken before my time - though, I have to admit, not that much before my time - but I can still identify with the shopfronts on Crown Street, Halifax. H. Samuel was selling lucky wedding rings, Dolcis was helping to give Crown Street its name - “shoe shop street” - and Boots … Continue reading Gone Shopping For History
Sowerby Bridge Station
I must confess that I don't remember the old Sowerby Bridge Station, although I'm sure I must have seen it before it burned down in the late 1970s. If this picture-postcard view is anything to go by, it was a rather grand affair - certainly in a different class from the functional, minimalist building that … Continue reading Sowerby Bridge Station
The Picture Postcard
Raise a toast to the humble picture-postcard photographers of a century ago. They seemed to spend their lives producing decorative trinkets - bearing inane greetings - sent from aunt to nephew, friend to friend, and lover to lover. What they actually did was preserve the past better than any porticoed museum. They stopped time and … Continue reading The Picture Postcard
Locarno Conference
When world leaders arrive at one of the countless international conferences they seem to attend these days, they might pause for a quick Facebook post or an X tweet, but they are unlikely to pose for, and add their signatures to, a commemorative picture postcard. This card from my collection reflects a different world. Unfortunately, … Continue reading Locarno Conference
I Was Nearly Kilt Last Night
"We got away for a few days. The weather is lovely. I was nearly kilt last night climbing hills. This is just at the top where we live". A brief explanation of the message on this old postcard may be necessary. The word "kilt" is a northern expression meaning "killed". The hill in question is Salterhebble … Continue reading I Was Nearly Kilt Last Night
A 1907 Poke
A "Facebook Poke" is defined as "a digital nudge or virtual greeting used to get a friend's attention." The equivalent 120 years ago was a postcard - sent, as it happens, to my great-uncle Fowler Beanland - with the slightly ambiguous message, "What Ho." The advantage of the 1907 poke is that we can compare … Continue reading A 1907 Poke
It Was Never So
This image comes from a 120 year old picture postcard of Halifax, and it is about as fake as any modern AI generated concoction. The colours have been painted in with all the skill of an arthritic canary, and the figures appear to have been randomly stuck on with haste as well as paste. Such … Continue reading It Was Never So
alanburnett.com 