Reports

South Tyneside Meeting - February 2004 "Collecting Postcards" by George Nairn A Report by Margaret Stafford

Our speaker tonight was George Nairn a local postcard dealer and collector-who is often too much of a collector for his own good!!! His hobby has become his work and he also now has 14 local history books under his belt. We had slides tonight so the content of my report will be more limited because there are no pictures but I hope it gives you a flavour of what you missed!!

George's hobby started innocently enough-25 years ago his mother was about to throw out some postcards and he intervened-he showed us one of the cards -of the tattoo held at Ravensworth castle, 1934 and 1936.

He admits to having "thousands" of postcards, particularly about his home area of Chester le Street but as a dealer he has a wide interest. This has led him into black and white photography and more recently digital photography. He was fortunate enough to have started collecting when cards were more plentiful and cheaper.

The picture postcard is generally held to have been invented in 1894, George had one from 1899 to show us. Between 1894-1902 it was illegal to write anything but the address on the back of the card-so if you have one which has tiny writing around the picture on the front you can usually date it to this time.

The "divided back" was introduced in 1902 and you could write up to 5 words as a message. Cards came in different sizes and materials-there were cabinet cards, cards made from peat, from tin, from leather. If you = wanted to be discreet you might write your message in shorthand, or code or mirror writing and much store was set by the angle of the stamp which could add to the message such thoughts as "I love you" or " I miss you".

For some the postmark is as collectable as the card or stamp -187 was the duplex number for Chester le St for example. The best early cards (up to the outbreak of WW1) were printed in Bavaria or Germany via a process called lithographic printing which produced good quality images which remain clear today. The country where the card was printed is another good indicator of age of the card.

George also had an example of a "hold to light" card-where there are windows in the card which light up when held to the light eg the windows of Durham cathedral. These are very collectable. Early cards were taken with a large format camera-very sharp images but if the subject moved a ghostly image was produced-hence the rather fixed and sombre expressions on the faces of our ancestors as they held their pose in the studio! We saw a "real photo" card of a child with hens-a studio card so you could bet on the hens being stuffed!!

The most common cards in the early period were "deckle-edged"-the crinkly edged cards produced for Christmas and birthdays. These were very common in the 30s, 40s and 50s. In the pre telephone days postcards were a very effective and efficient means of communication. There were 3 deliveries a day and a card could be sent in the morning asking someone to meet the 8pm train that same night-and to get a loaf of bread and potatoes for supper!! Most Christmas cards were posted on Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day itself as there were deliveries on the big day. All this without a postcode in sight!

Cards were a 1d to buy and a halfpenny to send up until 1918 when postage was increased. The "golden era" is usually held to be 1900-1920s when millions of cards were sent and postcard collecting was very fashionable-you often see a message of the "hope you will like this for your collection" variety. There were cards for all occasions-if there was a disaster, a local photographer would be on the spot and a postcard produced-often with a very small print run-this makes them very rare and collectable. Sometimes the profit from the card would go to the disaster fund.

Run of the mill events were also caught on film-from WI meetings to bonnie baby competitions, charabanc outings of local firms. Many cards were sent to and by young people in service and can provide clues to where your ancestors were at particular times. Studio names can be traced through Kelly's directories and provide clues to people's whereabouts.

For many family historians there is a thrill in buying an old postcard of a church where a family event took place, the railway station long demolished where the ancestors would have disembarked to start life in a new area. There can be some marvellous findings. Several years ago I was at a fair in the North east looking for a church in a Norfolk village and bought a postcard only to realise when I got it home that it had been sent by an extended family member from Norfolk up to the relatives who had come to live in South Shields-bingo- I had a date and an address to follow up as well as an example of their handwriting and some references to other family members!!

Postcards were often very topical and political. Suffragette cards are very collectable and George showed us one of Emily Davison's funeral. There were those who were anti suffragette and George also had a card entitled "suffragettes" showing 3 spectacularly ugly, bonneted pug dogs!!

Many of your early family photographs will have been postcards. Reading the messages gives a flavour of social history as well as providing clues to addresses and dates-the amount paid to post a card can help to date it. George had 1 card of the Sunderland football side 1936-7 sent to Miss Jennie Watson of 47 Canterbury Road, Westoe, South Shields. The sender appeared to be very apologetic as he had opted to attend the previous weekend's football match rather than meet his sweetheart, but the angle of his stamp declared his love!!

One of the things to remember is to write on the card in pencil any locations which aren't identified. Each month in Picture Postcard Monthly there are features on unidentified cards. Even tonight one of the members of the audience recognised his grandfather on a picture of the St John's Ambulance Brigade in Hebburn.

We saw wonderfully clear shots of early postmen and women, police officers, a girl in the Church lad's army (I'd never heard of this one!!), of a Boys Brigade camp, Consett ironworks, pigeon fanciers from Sunderland, a whist drive in St John's Chapel in 1912 as well as nostalgic shots of streets long demolished.

School shots help Beamish identify how to dress the local school room. The May Day celebrations and church outings revealed some wonderful hats. There was a shot of Egbert the tank-a fund raiser where you put your pennies in and 15s 6d bought a war bond. There was a shot of the recently rediscovered Royal Doulton nursery rhyme tiled panels in the RVI in Newcastle.

One of George's particular favourite card producers was Mr Johnson of Gateshead who produced around 16, 000 cards between 1900 to the 1940s. In 1946 much of his stock was lost in the fire which hit Shepherd's of Gateshead but fortunately stock at his Coatsworth Road shop survived. He was able to stroll down to the Tyne as the Tyne bridge was being built and produced a series of 65 shots of the work in progress.

We saw pictures of the long demolished fishermen's cottages in Cullercoats, with the baskets of winkles to sell from the door, Polly Donkin a Cullercoat's fisherwoman, the beach at Tynemouth before the Plaza burned down. We saw a picture of Mr Coates of Willington who used his car to carry round his big plate camera-a useful tip with early number plates is that J stood for County Durham and X for Northumberland.

The Abraham Brothers were famous for their shots of the Lake District-imagine carrying that heavy camera equipment up some of those hills!! Their shop front can still be seen in Keswick-now George Fisher's shop. There was a lovely shot of Penshaw Monument-long closed off to the public, of Girdlestone Cottage of Fatfield, demolished in the 30s and Queen's Hotel in Saltburn where motor cyclists would gather to watch the sand racing.

World War 1 "silks" in good condition are very collectable-they were bought for 3d in France and Belgium. Regimental badges are the most rare. Talking of rarity-one postcard which survived the sinking of the Titanic has been sold for almost £15, 000!!! Real photos are often the best sellers-shop fronts long gone, railway stations can command £35.

Glamour cards of actresses and variety artistes were produced in their thousands. For many people postcards mean the saucy seaside variety, few with any inherent value. The firm most associated with them, Bamforth's were actually making moving pictures until WW!.

Mabel Lucy Atwell cards are very collectable, especially the early ones (the ones with 2 globes on the back were produced by her daughter and are later ones). Bonzo cards and Louis Wain cards are also highly sought after and ironically Wain cards and sketches command high prices though he died in a mental institution in poverty.

There were cards produced for advertising-Pelaw Polish, Jones's sewing machine and of course with the Chester le St connection-Dainty Dinah toffee!! Goddard disaster cards include one commemorating the West Stanley pit disaster, with Kevin Keegan's grandfather. There is a 1913 card of the Mines Rescue station in Houghton le Spring-now the only one still left in the area.

In 19123 there were dozens of coaches lined up to bring the poor children of Consett on a day trip to South Shields-wonder where the poor children of Shields went for their day out!! There was a photo of the A1 at Chester le St, unrecognisable as the Shrove Tuesday football match was being played-all shop widows boarded up! We saw the AA man-on his push bike!! George's tip for the future is to hang onto autographed pop ephemera.

Our final shots were local ones-the Mill flats, Ocean Road in the late 1890s, the opening of the electric tram in Shields in 1906, South Shields football tam of 1922-23, threshing on Mr Woods' Red House farm at Harton, the Westoe cricket pavilion and Marsden Rock before the sea took its toll.

All in all we had a whistle stop tour of 100 years of postcard history which covered all aspects of our ancestors lives-so go on -search out those cards tucked away in drawer-you never know-there might be one of the Titanic which could get you early retirement!!

George can be found at postcard fairs all over the county and will be at the Chester le St fair in June and also at the Great North family history fair in September.