Tag: Vintage Postcards

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

The Tower On The Rocks

This strange little vintage postcard has an awful lot of white border and a somewhat anonymous rural scene, that could be here, there or almost anywhere. It only becomes of interest when the message on the reverse is read. It is addressed to Stanley Nunn Esq of Mandeville Road, Enfield in North London. You need … Continue reading The Tower On The Rocks

Pink Stone And Blue Cobbles

This is a somewhat colourful picture postcard of the Victoria Hall in Halifax which dates from the first decade of the 20th century. Such cards were hand-coloured, and one can suppose that the colourful imagination of the colourist got the better of them on this occasion. The card was sent to Mr G H Smith … Continue reading Pink Stone And Blue Cobbles

Fowler’s Album

My interest in vintage postcards started sixty or more years ago when, as a child, I would be taken to visit my mother's Uncle Fowler. Whilst the grown-ups talked, I would look through the album of old picture postcards he had. When he died, the album came to my mother, who - knowing my interest … Continue reading Fowler’s Album

A Halifax Alms Race

Although this postcard was not postally used - and therefore has no convenient postmark on the back to help date it - we can be reasonably sure it dates from that first decade of the twentieth century, when picture postcards were the Twitter of their day. The card shows Sir Francis Crossley's Almshouses which are … Continue reading A Halifax Alms Race

Postcards From Home: Crown Street, Halifax

This is a rather odd little postcard which dates from the early years of the twentieth century and features a view of Crown Street in Halifax. For some reason, the publishers - the famous W H Smith & Son - have chosen to print the photograph in a murky black on a dark silvery grey; … Continue reading Postcards From Home: Crown Street, Halifax

Ledgers And Quink Ink

A postcard from 1904 showing Southgate in Halifax. The buildings have a warm familiarity about them. Ryley's stationers brings back warm memories of ledgers and Quink Ink. 29 December 1904 : To: Miss Richardson c/o Mrs Rawson, The Banks, Padiham, LancashireDear Nance, Thanks for the P.C. I am sorry you did not get the one … Continue reading Ledgers And Quink Ink

Ward’s End, Halifax

With some old picture postcards, all you need is a big magnifying glass and a spare morning, and you can get lost in history (and with digital technology you don't even need the magnifying glass, just a good scan and a decent zoom). This old picture postcard of Ward's End in Halifax is a case … Continue reading Ward’s End, Halifax

Straight Cut At Brookfoot

Everything seemed simpler 100 years ago, there was less clutter. The mills were proportionate, their chimneys vertical, the houses in neat rows and the canal cut straight through the landscape. This picture postcard of the area known as Brookfoot just to the west of Brighouse, is fairly typical of the first decade of the twentieth … Continue reading Straight Cut At Brookfoot