For a couple of decades at the start of the 20th century, picture postcards reigned supreme in the seasonal greetings market. Costing just one halfpenny to post compared with double that for a folded greetings card, postcards soon eclipsed that market. And what a wealth of subjects appeared on Edwardian Christmas postcards! Images of holly Read More …

It is often said that every conceivable subject has appeared on picture postcards, but sometimes it is quite astonishing just how many different cards on a particular theme can actually be found. I found that to be true when I went looking for postcards of guitars. What a range I discovered, from old real photographic Read More …

I’m prone to misquote Dr. Johnson in saying “He who is tired of postcards is tired of life” (actually he said London). Samuel Johnson (who has statues to him in Lichfield and London) found the capital endlessly fascinating, and liked nothing better than to wander round exploring it. I feel there’s much the same satisfaction Read More …

I’m talking statues today. On postcards, obviously. Those edifices that we walk past all the time (well, in normal times, anyway) without giving much of a thought to who they  represent. Most are pretty old, anyway. The Victorians loved erecting thes tributes to local heroes, but sometimes they become an embarrassment to generations that follow. Read More …

Do you send Easter cards? I never have until this year when I sent two Edwardian postcards with current first class stamps on to family. And that compares with maybe a couple of hundred Christmas cards. Plenty of Easter greetings folded cards are on sale in the shops, as the religious festival has been added Read More …

John Claydon’s Confessions of a collector part 4   Discovering postcard Art Nouveau (or Mucha do about nothing)   To mark the 100th anniversary of the first UK postcard in 1870, the V&A held a ground-breaking exhibition.  It turned out to be the critical motivating factor which led to the revival of postcard collecting as Read More …

April 6th 2020   John Claydon’s ‘Confessions of a collector’ part 3     While I was studying history at school and then university in the late 60s and early 70s, the second great age of postcard collecting had not quite established itself.  I acquired cards whenever I could, with the great benefit that I Read More …

April 2nd 2020 Confessions of a collector with John Claydon One of the contributions I used particularly to enjoy in PPM a few years ago was Michael Goldsmith’s diary of his experiences as a dealer. Most of us collectors come to savour the hunt for postcards almost as much as the postcards themselves, and so Read More …

April 1st 2020 Starting today, we’re publishing a daily blog for postcard collectors which we hope you’ll enjoy. They’ll be a mix of features, comment & fun, and we’d love your feedback, either as a facebook comment or by sending stuff we can include in a blog (by email: reflections@postcardcollecting.co.uk). The blogs initially are presented Read More …

Picture Postcard Monthly is stopping publication with the May 2020 edition. Publishers Mark and Sally Wingham of Chimes Publishing have taken the decision after the likely cancellation of all fairs for the foreseeable future sent projected advertising revenue plummeting. PPM has entertained and informed collectors for the past 40 years, and its demise – barring some Read More …