October 2008
The Picture Postcard Show was a big success, with attendance up 30% and general approval of the 1908 Exhibition and the layout of the Hall at the Royal Horticultural Society. Bill Tonkin and Bob Wilcock shared the Desmond Chamberlain Cup for Postcard Research for their books on the Franco-British Exhibition and 1908 Olympics.
The 2009 edition of Picture Postcard Values, the only annual postcard catalogue in the world, was launched at the Bloomsbury Fair in London at the end of September.
The 'Secrets of the Saucy Seaside Postcard' exhibition is currently on tour in the South of England. It will stay at Bournemouth's Russell-Cotes Art Gallery from 24th October until February 2009. The exhibition is based on the Bamforth postcard collection from Kirklees Museum, Huddersfield.
A plaque to honour Barnsley postcard publisher Warner Gothard was unveiled in his home town on September 2nd.
Bill James's display of views of the River Fal estuary won Plymouth Postcard Club's 2008 competition. It was the first time Bill had entered a board.
Golf postcards continue to impress on eBay, with a card of Victorian star Tom Morris selling for £366 and a St. Andrews golfing scene making £151. Meanwhile, a hand-drawn unique postcard dated 1891 set a world record price for a golfing card of £1,100 on a specialist golf memorabilia internet site.
The heaviest postcard book ever was published recently, a two-volume epic on the postcards of Catalonia. Over 4,300 old cards are illustrated!
Some 2,000 postcards (actually postal stationery items, with pre-printed stamp) were available in China for the Olympics, but most showed similar views of the stadia or cartoons of the Games mascots. No postcards of the British medal winners have emerged yet.
eBay's up-and-coming rival Delcampe had a presence at the Picture Postcard Show, with three of their staff from Belgium making a high-profile appearance.
Charity fund-raisers Mike & Sylvia Porter form Norfolk, who raise thousands annually from their sales of postcards, were honoured recently with an invitation to a Buckingham Palace garden party.
For more detail on these stories, and lots more news, see Picture Postcard Monthly.
