Sepia Saturday 140 - lillies

I do not seem to have any wedding related material to share for this week's Sepia Saturday and as I have the world's worst haircut in my own wedding photo, I won't be sharing that. However I did notice that the bride is holding some lillies, so I thought I would include in selection of lillies.

Easter Lily, Bermuda

Fountain and Lily Pond, Hampton Court Palace

Miss Lily Elise

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

    

Sunday Stamps 63 - Flowers

Spring is really here in the UK this week. We've had some fantastic weather and we even managed to have a barbecue yesterday. For this week's Sunday Stamps of Flowers I found this presentation pack from 1979 of British Flowers. What's curious is that the stamps themselves seems to have been printed with such heavy background colours that it makes them look a little dull. I've included scans of the inserts as these have much more lively and spring like colours. The 2nd insert cites over picking and uprooting as the major causes of the decline of these flowers ... no mention of clearing vast tracts of countryside to build new roads, houses, or business parks.

Presentation Pack of British Flowers stamps, c.1979

Presentation pack insert

Presentation pack insert

Presentation pack insert

    

Sepia Saturday 112 - books

This week's Sepia Saturday theme of books forced me to go to a lower level of searching for something suitable. I've posted blog articles on various books before over on my vintage books and magazines blog but didn't want to re-use an old post so I turned instead to my vintage postcards. Unfortunately only one of them had the word book in the title of the postcard, well the title I'd filed it under, so I had to look through vast numbers of them until I found one that had a suitable image of a book. Hopefully you'll think it was worth the searching.

Forget-me-not, vintage postcard, c.1912

More vintage postcards can be found on my web site, and my flickr pages

Postcard Friendship Friday 98 - roses

Although I have a reasonably sizeable collection of vintage postcards, I don't think I've ever had one which celebrates Valentine's Day. I know we're not bound to keeping to any theme here on PFF, but I would have liked to this week, as the card Beth shared was wonderful. The nearest I could find was this vintage postcard of roses.

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

Postcard Friendship Friday 73

Once again we seem to have quite a hectic weekend planned, so unfortunately not much time to devote to blogging today. I certainly have nothing rodent related to match the original Postcard Friendship Friday post, so instead have chosen something from my collection which I've always meant to share but don't think I've ever got around to doing so. The postcard was written in 1903 and the sender had so much to write that not only have they filled the back of the postcard but have also written all over the violets on the front. I don't have a scan of the back of the card, but it ends with the words "Are they missing me at home", so maybe from someone gone into household or military service? It's not been posted and I think judging from the message was included in an envelope with other letters.

Vintage postcard of Violets, c.1903

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

Postcard Friendship Friday 56: Roses

I was fortunate enough to pick up a whole batch of vintage postcards of flowers a couple of years ago. To keep with this week's Postcard Friendship Friday theme I've posted a few here. The 3rd one, which was is the only one to bear a publisher's name was published by Raphael Tuck, and is probably my favourite of the three.

More vintage postcards of flowers on my web site

    

Hand made vintage postcard, c.1907

I've just acquired a batch of 200 or so vintage postcards to sort through. Not having much time this evening I chose the first one that really stood out to share. This is a really unusual postcard and I've never seen anything quite like it before. It features a portrait photograph inserted into a cut-out oval shape picture of some flowers, all of which has been pasted on to a plain postcard, way back in 1907.

 The greeting on the back of the postcard reads, 'Put me in a nice place in your album and send me yours by return. Thanks'.

As always 100's more vintage postcards on my web site.

Vintage postcard - Forget-Me-Not

Another single entry postcard today, but this one was so 'special' I thought it deserved its own blog entry. Given the presence of the Union Jack and the heart-wrenchingly sad poem, I assume it was intended to be given or sent from (or to) someone going off to war. The postcard is postally unused so unfortunately there's no indication of date, although I would assume it's World War II. The postcard is in pretty good condition so I'm assuming that it was given from someone departing, or if it was taken into battle then it was treasured and kept safe. There is however not written greeting on the back so perhaps it was bought and never given ... I guess the possibilities are endless.

The poem reads ...

I hope you'll not forget me

I always think of you

And remember all the happy times

We've often had we two

I want so much to see you

I miss you such a lot

But I'll be content if you promise that you'll

Forget Me Not

Theme Thursday - Reveal

I thought the way these flowers opened up to REVEAL their inner beauty was appropriate for this week's Theme Thursday. This is a vintage postcard of poppies in a vase by an unknown artist.

100's more vintage postcards can be found on my vintage postcards web site

Vintage postcards of flowers

I actually managed to fit in a bike ride and some gardening today, so not much time for the blog, so just a short post regarding some vintage postcards of flowers that have just arrived. Up to today, the only flowers I've had on postcards have been those on birthday greeting postcards, and to be honest slightly tacky. However, the batch of postcards that arrived today have some beautiful, hand drawn flowers, often with detailed descriptions on the back. I've only got time to share a couple this evening but over the next few days hope to get them at list on to a Flickr set ... I'll write a quick blog update with the link once I've uploaded them.

Fleurs des Alpes - Alpenblumen, by the artist Olga Derindingen-Roux, published by C.W.Faulkner, number 183

The Bougainvillia, Lili postcard from Bermuda, number 8, Ektachrome by Bermuda Photo Craftsmen, printed in Scotland by Robert MacLehose & Co. Ltd., Glasgow

The Bougainvillia, named after a French sea adventurer, is a high-climbing, thorny vine from Brazil. A British admiral planted the first vine at Government House in 1876.

Lots more postcards on my vintage postcards web site