Sepia Saturday 161 - Vintage postcard of Edwardian actor Kyrle Bellew

I studied this week's Sepia Saturday prompt closely this week but alas could not find anything to stay even remotely on theme, so have decided to go complete off theme this week. I picked up the vintage postcard below in a recent haul just before Christmas. I'd never heard of the actor in question, Mr Kyrle Bellew, but after a quick investigation I found he was quite a character with quite a history. Bellew spent much of his childhood in India before returning to England and joining the Navy where he spent time aboard HMS Conway, before finally turning to acting, where he spent much of his stage career alongside Mrs Brown-Potter (who funnily enough I also have a vintage postcard of ... this was not planned when I started my post).

Vintage postcard of Mr Kyrle Bellew, c.1904

Vintage postcard of Mrs Brown-Potter, c.1904

As usual, 100's more vintage postcards on my web site

    

Sepia Saturday 160 - vintage postcards of piers

Thanks for the suggestion of piers as an option for this week's Sepia Saturday. I would have been struggling to stay on theme otherwise. Unsurprisingly piers do feature quite frequently on vintage postcards, or any postcards for that matter, so I had quite a few to choose from. These are some of my favourites and they vary from the very basic Eastham pier, to the grand piers of Brighton and Blackpool, and a few that fit in between.

Vintage postcard of Eastham Pier, Lancashire

Vintage postcard of North Pier, Blackpool, Lancashire, c.1938

Vintage postcard of Palace Pier, Brighton, Sussex

Vintage postcard of the pier, Skegness, Lincolnshire

Vintage postcard of Clarence Pier and Esplanade, Southsea, Hampshire

Vintage postcard of the Central Pier, Morecombe, Lancashire, c.1905

Many more vintage postcards can be found in my online shop

    

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

I know that snow causes huge problems for many, but I have to confess that I REALLY like it. I worked from home today, the kids did not go to school, and it actually feels a bit like winter at last. I thought as my updates in this blog had not been as regular as I'd have liked this year that I thought I'd do a blog post on vintage postcards featuring snow that don't mention the word Christmas.

 Vintage panel postcard of a church in the snow, published by C.W.Faulkner

Vintage postcard of the Stepping Stones, Jesmond Dene, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Vintage postcard of snow in the Palace Yard, Gloucester, published by Burrow

Vintage panl postcard of a winter scene, published by C.W.Faulkner

Vintage olio postcard of a winter scene

Vintage postcard of the river in winter, Stratford-on-Avon

    

As usual 100's more vintage postcards on my web site

Sunday Stamps 105 - a new beginning (KGVI Coronation)

The obvious stamp for me to share in this week's Sunday Stamps would have been the Penny Black, but having featured one in my previous Sunday Stamps blog post I had to really think about what would be fitting for this week's theme of beginning. I did think perhaps I'd feature some stamps relating to independence but couldn't seem to find them, so instead I decided on a different kind of beginning ... the beginning of the reign of a new monarch in the UK, in this case George VI. The stamp featured below was issued to commemorate his coronation on 12th May 1937.

Coronation of King George VI, 12th May 1937

    

Sunday Stamps 104 - black stamps

I've not managed to participate in Sunday Stamps for a while but will try to make more of an effort in 2013. I suspect my choice of stamps, well the first one of them anyway, for this week's theme of black is not particularly original. My only Penny Black stamp it is pretty battered,  but it's still special in its own way.

Penny Black stamp, c.1840, and a £1 stamp from the 1980's

For any recent new recruits to Sunday Stamps, I have to confess that it's vintage postcards that is my main passion, but stamps, being inextricably linked, do of course get a look in every once in a while. If you want to find out more, check out some of the other posts on my vintage postcards blog

 

      

Vintage postcards by the artist Elmer Keene

A few weeks ago when I shared a vintage Christmas postcard by the artist Elmer Keene, it attracted a fair bit of interest so I promised to dedicate a whole post to him. As with many artists whose work is regularly featured on vintage postcards, Elmer's wok is quite distinctive and relatively easy to spot when flicking through a batch of postcards. The majority of those I have found to date are black and white, with a few being colour, or colour-tinted. Whilst the majority of those I have come across are landscapes, and usually in Scotland, Ireland or the Lake District, I do also have a few of other scenes. Their distinctive appearance probably has a correct name in the world of art, but to me they appear dark, understated and slightly misty. I have quite a few to choose from but have tried to select a batch to share which are both interesting and varied. If this post generates sufficient interest I may do a follow-up post with more Elmer Keene postcards.

Portelet Bay, Jersey, vintage postcard by the artist Elmer Keene

Lower Lake, Killarney, Ireland, vintage postcard by the artist Elmer Keene

Sound of Kenerra, Oban, Scotland, vintage postcard by the artist Elmer Keene

Rough Sea, vintage postcard by the artist Elmer Keene

Tintern Abbey, vintage postcard by the artist Elmer Keene

As usual 100's of vintage postcards can be found on my web site