Liverpool & Wirral

Welcome to my March entry - this time featuring old views of Liverpool & Wirral.

Collecting vintage postcards goes by the very flash name of ‘Deltiology’ and is second only to stamp collecting as the world’s most favourite hobby. We all like taking a peek into the past.... with vintage postcards you can tap into a world that has gone forever; some locations have totally changed, particularly those of streets and town centres.

Old postcards afford wonderful opportunities to search out vintage views of places you knew, still know, or even lived in... sometimes it is possible to get vintage cards of your very house in times gone by, if you are lucky!

Anyone reading this, live in one of these houses? It is entitled Aigburth Road and Eastfield Drive, Liverpool – note the tramlines and the wires overhead! Old Postcards, as our name implies, is an online store selling vintage postcards. Our store is now on Delcampe – a large online site which is devoted to collectables - where we have over 2,000 cards currently listed for sale, mostly at fixed prices. (Now over 5,000 cards listed - June 2012)

Here’s one of the old Convalescent Home in New Brighton – located in Rowson Street and now replaced by flats, I believe!

My Wirral cards are all to be found in the Cheshire section of the store. Liverpool postcards are filed under Lancashire. When allocating cards to their various sections in the store, the older county names are used rather than the more modern (and not as well liked!) metropolitan districts or boundary changes which came into effect in the 1970s.

Here’s an example of an undivided back postcard, this one of St George’s Hall, Liverpool and also an image of the reverse side of the card (note the limited space allowed for a message to be written on the front of the card!

Unfortunately the postmark is not clear but the card will have been produced no later than 1902.It has recently been sold so is not available in my store now.

Another example of a scene which you may not recognise – take a look at this one of Acre Lane in Heswall – this was posted in 1907.... also recently sold so no longer available.

Here is a scene you will recognise, but it's alot busier these days - it's Pensby Road in Heswall, circa 1960s.

And how about this one of Well Lane, Higher Tranmere, in 1904:

Our vintage postcards are for sale online in store at Delcampe. Delcampe is the largest internet auction site for collectables and is free to register and free to buy from.

The address of the store is http://www.delcampe.com/stores/old_postcards

Scroll down the list until you find the country/county in which you are interested and just click the link. Remember – all the images enlarge if you click on them and give you a superbly detailed view of the postcard in question.

As we don’t usually sell direct from our website (http://www.oldpostcardsetc.co.uk) if you wish to purchase any of our cards you will need to register on the Delcampe site; however, this is very easy and totally free to do so. I would add, also, that if you are interested in vintage postcards then there are literally thousands of them on Delcampe so you won’t regret registering!

To finish off with, let's go back to Liverpool - an old view of Central Station

If you're seeking old cards of any specific location, why not email us and we can try and find them for you?

I hope you have enjoyed reading the blog and viewing some samples of our cards – why not check us out as there are over 2,000 in our store from all parts of the UK and abroad. (Now over 5,000 cards listed - June 2012)

Thanks for reading!

OLD SUSSEX CHURCHES

Happy New Year and welcome to my first blog update of 2010.

Having acquired a few vintage cards of Sussex churches recently, I thought I would make a feature of them here. As I am not local to Sussex I don't know alot about the various areas but hope that the images alone will be of interest to you, the reader. All are for sale (at the time of writing) in my store.

The first image above is Battle Church, the card is not postally used - on the back someone has written that it is St Mary's Church.

Then off we go to Bexhill on Sea - St Peter's Church and Lychgate. (left)

This card was posted in 1929.








How about Hamsey Old Church (right)? This card dates back to the very early 1900s and was postally used in 1904. It is located near Lewes and is St Peter's Church.



The next one (left) is - Crowhurst Church and Yen Tree, near Bexhill... It's a nice card - not postally used but early 1900s again. The title says Yen Tree, but does it mean Yew Tree?




Here is Christ Church, Eastbourne - posted in 1904. It looks a very isolated spot doesn't it - I wonder if it has changed much in the last 106 years?

The one below is Holy Trinity Church, Worthing - this card was postally used in 1924.









The card below right is Heathfield Church; this was posted in 1906 and is one of my favourites - don't know why... just seems a lovely peaceful spot and appears quite rural... I don't know if that is still the case, but this postcard seems to give out that message to me.



















A quick visit to Rottingdean Church next - not postally used but early 1900s again.


And the last church we travel to is Rye Church - this one is a 1905 Watercolour Art postcard, makes a different kind of image and very attractive. (pictured below)

ALL THE POSTCARDS FEATURED ARE LISTED IN THE SUSSEX SECTION OF MY STORE -

http://bit.ly/4yVDAn

THERE ARE OTHER SECTIONS FOR HASTINGS AND BRIGHTON - THE ABOVE LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO THE SECTION FEATURING ALL OTHER SUSSEX LOCATIONS.

ALL IMAGES ENLARGE IF YOU CLICK ON THEM

I hope you have enjoyed this feature on the Sussex churches; I cannot guarantee them still being for sale in the store when you look but you never know! There are now over 2,000 vintage postcards in my store - the index page can be found at

http://www.delcampe.co.uk/stores/old_postcards

As always, get in touch with me if you are seeking cards of any particular location in the world and I will add you to my wants list!

That's all for this month - see you in February!

Various new additions to the store

Greetings! Here we are with the December update; rather than focus on one particular area I thought I would give you some examples of vintage cards which are in the store; some have only come in fairly recently. At the time of writing this, all are for sale - but I cannot guarantee they will still be there when you are reading this page.

The first image (above) is of a scene in Thoralby, Wensleydale (Yorkshire) in 1910. It looks such a lovely sleepy little place doesn't it! The hatching on the picture is from the scanning process; often a certain finish on the postcard creates this effect when one scans it for publishing.

From Yorkshire we travel down the country to Findon village, in Sussex - this is a scene from 1905. Findon is near Worthing - I wonder if it has changed much? The postcard is used but the stamp has been removed.

Sometimes stamp collectors remove the stamps and then sell the postcards on - I don't receive many like that but as long as the card itself is not damaged, then unless the buyer specifically wanted the stamp to be present, it doesn't really affect the appeal of the postcard.

Where should we travel to next? How about calling in to Paignton, in Devon? Fancy a view of something other than the beach? This one is entitled 'Paignton from the Esplanade' and is early 1900s. You can see how deserted the main street is! I wonder if it was taken out of season.






OK climb aboard, we are off to Romsey now, in Hampshire.

This card can be dated to pre 1918; a busy scene in the Market Place... complete with what appears to be a cattle market! The building on the left has a sign clearly telling us that it is the Romsey Working Men's Conservative Association.


As with all the images on our sales listings, if you click on the image it will enlarge to give you a super view of the postcard in question. If there is anything special about the reverse side of the card, then that too, will be shown. If you see any card that you would be interested in seeing the reverse side of and there isn't an image of it already there, no problem - just use the 'contact' button and send a message.


From Hampshire let's whisk away right up to Scotland - this is a postcard entitled 'Taynuilt Road, Loch Etive'.

This is in Argyllshire - the postcard can be dated to pre 1918 and portrays a lovely rural village scene. Puzzlingly, Loch Etive is in fact what it says it is - a loch... there is no village called that but there is a place called Taynuilt. However, in those days maybe the whole area was called Loch Etive. It certainly is a lovely card.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at some of the postcards in the store - there are, at the time of writing, over 1,800 of them covering various countries. The majority are UK cards, but there are now an extensive stock of French cards in there and also cards from other countries e.g. USA, Canada, Spain... even Bulgaria. The home page of the store lists each country so just scroll down until you come to the one you want and click on it.

Remember to click the images on the individual listings - this produces a supersize view so you can take a good look at the card before you decide if you wish to buy it. Some of them are on auction but the vast majority are fixed price, providing an instant purchase.

Here is the link to the main Store page again..... http://www.delcampe.co.uk/stores/old_postcards

Do I have a website? Yes! It shows you more samples of the cards
and links to my store.

http://www.oldpostcardsetc.co.uk

Are you seeking for cards of particular locations?
Just let me know and I will add you to the wants list!

All that remains for me to say is... thanks alot for reading my blog

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I shall be back in January with another update.

SPOTLIGHT ON NORFOLK

Time for an update, I think and this time we are going to go to Norfolk.

I travelled to Norfolk on my motorcycle for a long weekend some time last Spring; it was a great time - such lovely countryside, sleepy villages and brisk coastal walks.

The image above is a very old real photo postcard simply entitled 'Caister on Sea'. I have featured this card before in the blog - it looks like it is Sunday morning and the locals are coming out of church, there is a horse and cart in the lane ferrying people home in their Sunday best. It's a delightful image and I am sure the view is much changed these days.

The image on the right is a view of Norwich Market way back in 1907... spot the tram too. No doubt they were very busy days when the market was on and the trams were packed to capacity!






On the left is a card from 1937, "Pretty Corner, Sheringham" It bears the stamp showing Edward VIII, who had abdicated four months earlier!

This view is a real photo postcard again, this time of Ranworth Church and Vicarage.

Has this view changed?

I have other Norfolk cards for sale in the store - all these featured here are presently still on sale as well. I cannot guarantee by the time you read this that will still be the case but you never know!


If you have a connection with the county of Norfolk why not take a look... the link to our Norfolk cards is at http://bit.ly/kFFKj

If you wish to purchase any you can register for free on the site or if you would prefer not to register, just let me know which cards you wish to buy.

Until next time, then, take care - I will feature another UK county fairly soon. Thanks for reading this far - if you like what you have seen maybe some of the earlier updates will be of interest too.

Spotlight on Warwickshire

In the second of my series of 'Spotlight On...' we come to Warwickshire. Warwickshire has a great history - and some lovely countryside locations as well as the huge metropolis of Birmingham. The first postcard is of Alvechurch, near Birmingham - as such it is filed in the Birmingham section of the store... it is one of my favourites of the area - it almost makes one feel that you are standing in the street there, along with the folk in the image. It would be interesting to hear how much this scene has changed!

Now on to Earlswood - this is a lovely peaceful scene, Earlswood Reservoir...

and (right) the Reservoir Hotel at Earlswood - this, again, is a fascinating postcard - you can see some of the locals posing outside the door for the photographer. This, like the ones above, dates back to pre 1918. How do we know that, if it isn't postally used? The postage rate quoted on the card is 1/2d - the postage rates increased in 1918 to 1d inland - that is how the card can be dated even though it has not been mailed.

At the time of writing this entry in the blog, I have 17 vintage cards listed in the Warwickshire>>>Other section of my store and 15 in the Warwickshire>>>Birmingham section; to be honest, I am never sure where one ends and the other begins so please bear with me! If you see something that should be swopped by all means let me know (my email address is here in the profile section).

With vintage cards arriving all the time, the store is constantly being updated.

Here are the links to my Warwickshire and Birmingham listings - don't forget - if you click on the images in the listings they will zoom right in and give you a superb view of the postcard in question. All my items are at fixed prices - no need to wait and wonder if you will win an auction. Obviously sometimes at auction, I can get very high prices for postcards but I prefer to list them at fixed prices so that if customers want the card, they can have it - first come first served! I will take the risk of losing out on getting a higher price.

Here is the link to my Birmingham section of the store, featuring Warwickshire cards as well as city locations:

http://postcards.delcampe.com/page/list/cat,10247,cats,,id_member,00226505,language,E.html

and here is the link to the rest of the Warwickshire cards:
http://postcards.delcampe.com/page/list/id_member,00226505,cat,10246,language,E.html

So...... if you wanted a card, how do you purchase it? Well..... you can register on the Delcampe website free of charge and then hit the Buy Now button - payment is accepted by cheque or Paypal or Moneybookers, whichever suits you best. If you have ever bought anything on Ebay then you'll find that it works in much the same way. It is free to register and free to buy.

If you don't wish to register on the site at this time, but want a particular card, just let me know by email.

OK - last one up - this time is in the Birmingham section.... bringing us right back up to the 1950s..... it's a view of Six Ways, Erdington. If you look carefully you can see the tram lines in the road. The postmark is not clear on this card but it looks like 1952. Which could mean of course, that the postcard was produced in the late 1940s.

I bet there is rather more traffic at this junction, nowadays!

Thanks for reading this far - please do get in touch if you have any queries or whether you are looking for a card of a particular location, I operate a 'wants' list for people and will contact you if I get any cards in which you may be interested. Email me via my profile here on the blog.

I send up to 6 postcards for the price of one p&p - that's only 80p within the UK. If you live in Europe the p&p (shipping) cost is £1.30 and the rest of the world it's £1.75.

Which reminds me, I will very soon do a spotlight on a non UK location...... watch this space!

If you wish to receive notifications on when my blog is updated,
why not press the 'follow' button on this page?

I will leave you with the main link to my store - http://www.delcampe.com/stores/old_postcards

An update of burning importance!

Just a short update tonight; I took in a delivery today of some foreign postcards - vintage ones of course, not the 'wish you were here/come on in the water's lovely' kind... although when I saw one of them it occurred to me that those other kind aren't so bad after all!

The card in question is shown above, entitled 'Calcutta, Burning Ghat' - it's an old card depicting an actual Indian cremation.... the body is clearly visible. It is surprising how different cultures can be across the world - and vintage postcards show that very clearly - it is all part of the fascination of collecting them! This particular card wasn't postally used but the postage quoted (wait for it) is "India postage 3 pies, to Europe 1 Anna". That might help to date the card if you know your Indian currency - if anyone can put a date on this card I'd be pleased to hear from them. I've placed the card on sale in my Delcampe store HERE. If the link is broken it will have been sold.

I have had quite a lot of interest in my foreign cards - maybe I will do a 'Spotlight' on different countries as well as the UK counties. To end this short update the other card shown is an old card of Lens, in France. It's one of my favourites.

That too, is currently for sale in the store and you can see the item HERE

Don't forget, as with all the cards in my store, if you click on the image it will zooooom in and you will see a super duper enlargement - it all helps to assess the card's appeal in case you wish to click on the BUY NOW button!

That's all for now - I will update again very soon with a spotlight on another UK county.... now which one shall it be?? Any ideas? My contact email address, as ever, is in my Profile.

Spotlight on Cheshire

As mentioned earlier, I have had lots of old cards come in during the last couple of weeks; one or two were absolute gems and of course soon disappeared back out again to happy customers. One of them was this one, of the old Hooton Park in Wirral.

A lovely building - long since demolished and the giant Vauxhall Motors car plant now stands in its place. Is that progress?

I suppose it is, for those who have jobs there, but it's a pity we lose so much of our history and heritage as we march on through time. Thank goodness for old postcards, eh!

Several more Wirral cards are in my store - they are listed in the Cheshire section along with other postcards from that county; I always use the old county names rather than the more modern (and often totally irrelevant) versions!

The Cheshire section is at http://postcards.delcampe.com/page/list/cat,10195,cats,,id_member,00226505,language,E.html