“Dear Martin, A line saying that I am now in Waterloo Station 4 -pm. Letter will follow. Alf.” Half penny stamp. Not cheap, then. And the picture on the front is a coloured print of St Paul’s Cathedral’s ‘choir & reredos’. Who was Alf? Did you know him? Was he a cousin, maybe even your…
Oct ’13 Why couldn’t you have waited Until, in later years They’ll build iconic river bridge To drive away her tears. In the postbox at the Museum, this little gem. Please feel free to add any poems or stories, thoughts or ideas of your own. They’ll all be published here. This one might…
Gotthardstrasse (road to the Gotthard Pass), Andermatt. Another long stretch of miles from Trimdon Street, Andermatt is a picturesque ski resort in the Swiss Alps. Someone who knew Martin, a member of his family, a work colleague, maybe Martin himself, went to Switzerland. Maybe even skied. Now – that would be a thing.
“There’s a love story told at the riverside By the skill of a sculptor in stone It tells of a poor Red House woman Who longs for her man to come home. There’s a three legged stool by the dresser An over-turned chair on the floor A cooking pot over the fireplace His overcoat hangs…
Annie & John are in Corbridge. They write: “Dear Martin, This is a lovely country place. Fine walks (but) no clicks, so it is no use.” Clicks? Dicks? Ducks? Clucks? “Be good to Fluffy. I suppose she will have missed me by now. Will let you know later when we are to arrive.” Who are…
One of the few upright postcards in the collection, unusually, Au Col de Jaman is a black and white photograph and shows the silhouetted figure of a skier or snow walker at a time when an annual winter sports holiday destination like this would have been out of the question for the working classes of…
One of the bonnier pictorials in this collection – it’s a hand coloured photograph or a watercolour painting, and yes there’s a pronounced green tint on front and the printing on the back is in the same green. So somebody went to the Isle of Wight, perhaps on holiday. Or one of the…
“On the left is the foot of the mountain which I climbed y’day 3,500 feet above sea level.” “George Hotel Penrith Having lovely weather and I am feeling ever so much better in health. Are you keeping well. I don’t want you to get done up by staying at the works all day…
Postcard 2 hasn’t been written on. It was very common to collect postcards as souvenirs much as we do today. But it was also very common to send them in an envelope, protecting the integrity of the original item. Maybe a letter would be included. This pretty line drawn sketch of a deserted path along…
Excellent day at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens today surrounded by friendly and helpful staff and our beautiful northern light flooding the mezzanine. Final Year Undergrad Janine whom you see here helping with the install will make a fine curator one day. She is already efficient and exacting, with important attention to detail and an…
THE GREAT FERN STREET POSTCARD MYSTERY 