Bamforth & Co Ltd postcards

Bamforth & Co.  

1870-1990 Holmfirth, England  James Bamforth began his career as a manufacturer of lantern slides. In 1890 he started production of illustrated song lyric slides that audiences could sing along to at shows. This quickly became his most popular selling item. In the years following, the Company became the largest producer of model slides. From this vast photo inventory Bamforth began to publish of a variety of postcard types including comics, greetings, propaganda, real photos, and views, but especially song sets, many of which were reproduced from lantern slide images. Today they are best remembered for their series of saucy seaside postcards, which may have numbered close to a 100,000 different titles. While this series was begun in 1902, they did not become very popular until the 1930’s. In 1906 Bamforth opened a New York Office at 35 West 21st Street. By 1910 they had become a Limited company. The Company was sold to ETW Dennis, but in 2000 the rights to their images was purchased by Ian Walker. [source]

Market Drayton | England

This is one more postcard I found in St Ives. I researched a bit but I couldn't find any information about the woman pictured or the costume she is wearing. I finally found who she is! Read all about her here!

On the back it reads: 'Many thanks for card, was pleased to hear you have so many cards. I have not counted mine lately. 

Eathel B.

15/12/05.

The postcard was posted on 16 December 1905 at 8:30pm from Market Drayton with a half pence stamp picturing King Edward VII. Stamps for King Edwards reign were issued on 1st January 1902 until 1910. The inland postage rate for postcards was ½d (halfpenny) throughout this period.

Market Drayton is a market town in north Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh and Staffordshire border. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" (c. 1868) and earlier simply as "Drayton" (c. 1695). In 1245 King Henry III granted a charter for a weekly Wednesday market, giving the town its current name. The market is still held every Wednesday.

Mr Hayden Coffin

Wow! It's been so long since I last uploaded a postcard here! I went to St Ives in Cornwall for Easter with some friends. In this small, picturesque town I found the cutest little vintage shop, selling old toys and postcards. One of my finds is this postcard:

This dapper gentleman immediately caught my eye. As you can see his name is Mr Hayden Coffin and he starred in 'A Country Girl'. Below the photograph it reads: 'Doesn't he look nice? We are going to see him in "Lorna Doone" [...] quite a new caricature (?) for him. Please remember me if you see him. Love & love (?) F. P. I.'

Charles Hayden Coffin (22 April 1862 – 8 December 1935) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes. Hayden achieved fame as Harry Sherwood in Dorothy (1886), which became the longest-running piece of musical theatre in history up to that time; other similar roles followed. In 1893, he joined the company of George Edwardes and starred in a series of extraordinarily successful musical comedies.

Carnival of Binche | Belgium

This postcard is from Belgium but was sent from the USA. It was sent by Stefan via Postcrossing [US-3750646]. He writes: 'On the card you see people wearing a Carnival costume in the city of Binche in Belgium. It is on the UNESCO list. They dance funny and throw oranges to the bystanders.'

The Carnival of Binche is an event that takes place each year in the Belgian town of Binche during the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday. The carnival is the best known of several that take place in Belgium at the same time and has been proclaimed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity listed by UNESCO. Its history dates back to approximately the 14th century.

Events related to the carnival begin up to seven weeks prior to the primary celebrations. Street performances and public displays traditionally occur on the Sundays approaching Ash Wednesday, consisting of prescribed musical acts, dancing, and marching. Large numbers of Binche's inhabitants spend the Sunday directly prior to Ash Wednesday in costume.

The centrepiece of the carnival's proceedings are clown-like performers known as Gilles. Appearing, for the most part, on Shrove Tuesday, the Gilles are characterised by their vibrant dress, wax masks and wooden footwear. They number up to 1,000 at any given time, range in age from 3 to 60 years old, and are customarily male. The honour of being a Gille at the carnival is something that is aspired to by local men. From dawn on the morning of the carnival's final day, Gilles appear in the centre of Binche, to dance to the sound of drums and ward off evil spirits with sticks. Later during the day, they don large hats adorned with ostrich plumes, which can cost more than $300 US dollars to rent, and march through the town with baskets of oranges. These oranges are thrown to, and sometimes at, members of the crowd gathered to view the procession. The vigour and longevity of the orange-throwing event has in past caused damage to property – some residents choose to seal windows to prevent this. The oranges are considered good luck because they are a gift from the Gilles and it is an insult to throw them back. [wikipedia]

The postcard was sent from the USA with a Christmas stamp [2013].

Prekmurska gibanica | Slovenia

I have to admit I love postcards that picture the local traditions. This is one of them. It was sent by Robert from beautiful SLovenia via Postcrossing [SI-122265]. He writes that the 'card shows a housekeeper in daily traditional costume baking pastries - Prekmurska Gibanica, very tasty pastries.'

Prekmurska gibanica (Prekmurian layer cake) is a type of Slovenian gibanica or layered cake. It contains poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins and ricotta fillings. Although native to Prekmurje, it has achieved the status of a national specialty of Slovenia. The unique sweetmeat shows the variety of agriculture in this region. The name gibanica comes from dialectical expression güba and in this case refers to a fold. For centuries prekmurska gibanica was served as a festive and ritual dish in Prekmurje. The exact origin of the recipe is not clear. Early sources suggest that it evolved over centuries. The oldest extant document (1828) by József Kossics described the wedding (prek: "Gostüvanje) never goes by without gibanica, which is done as follows: "The dough is rolled until thin, sprinkled with grated cabbage, turnips or ricotta. All is covered by second layer of dough. It is sprinkled as previously. 10 or 11 such layers are thus composed and form a conspicuous cake."

The prekmurska gibanica was chosen to represent Slovenia in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006. In March 2010, the EU gave Prekmurska gibanica Protected Geographical Status within Europe. [wikipedia]

If anyone has an authentic Prekmurska gibanica recipe, do write it in the comments. I would love to make a traditional one [I am sure I can find loads online, but I would prefer an old family recipe - is it too much to ask?]

The postcard was postmarked on 12 December 2015 in Trbovlje, Slovenia.

Borne | The Netherlands

This is a multi-view postcard sent by Jantsje from Borne via postcrossing [NL-3215637].

Borne is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. Its inhabitants also have the nickname Melbuul [which I am very intrigued to find out what it means]. Borne is the sister city of the German town Rheine.

It was postmarked on 10 November 2015 in Zwolle.

Vilnius | Lithuania

This is my first postcard from Lithuania! It is a multi-view postcard of Vilnius sent by Margarita via postcrossing [LT-473862]. 

Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, is known for its baroque architecture, seen especially in its medieval old town. But the buildings lining this district’s partially cobblestoned streets reflect diverse styles and eras, from the neoclassical Vilnius Cathedral to Gothic St. Anne's Church. The 16th-century Gate of Dawn, containing a shrine with a sacred Virgin Mary icon, once guarded an entrance to the original city.

It was postmarked on 02 November 2015 in Garliava, Lithuania.

Date of issue: 8th November 2014
Designer: Augustina Gruzdyte
Paper: chalky
Printing process: offset
Perforation: comb 13 1/4 : 13
Size of a stamp: 30 x 40 mm.
Sheet composition: 50 (10 x 5) stamps.
Printing run: 750.000
2.80 Lt. multicoloured. Santa by a balloon.

Gruss aus Nurnberg | Germany

 

I am not a big fan of painted postcards, but this one is really special! I love the illustration and the vintage feel it has. It was sent by Florian from Germany via Postcrossing [DE-4626965].

Nuremberg, a city in Bavaria, is distinguished by its medieval architecture, including the fortifications and stone towers of its Altstadt (Old Town). At the northern edge of the Altstadt, surrounded by red-roofed buildings, stands Kaiserburg Castle. The Hauptmarkt (central square) contains the Schöner Brunnen, the gilded “beautiful fountain” with tiers of figures, and Frauenkirche, a 14th-century Gothic church.

It was postmarked with a Schloss Ludwigslust stamp.

Theme: Series "Castles" - Castle Ludwigslust
Nominal Value: 0.80 €
Issue Date: 2 January 2015
Design: Nicole Elsenbach

Italian Family business | Italy

Mrs N. Drury must have been a lovely lady. I found two postcard sent to her by her children and grandchildren in two subsequent years.

The first one was sent by her grandson, Richard, from Rimini, Italy. Mrs Drury lived in Middlesex, England.

He wrote: 'Dear Grandma, The weather is very good here, and I am having a most enjoyable time. Give my love to all at 59 [the number of their house], and I hope you are all well. Love, Richard'. It was postmarked on 24 June 1967. The first two stamps used were of 5 and 10 lire. The third one commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Republic [2 June 1946-1966].

Love story from 1904 | Austria

 

This cute postcard was postmarked in Vienna, Austria. I can not read the date but I did a little research on the stamp used.

It depicts Emperor Franz Joseph and had a value of 5 heller. Granite paper with varnish lines Lackstreifen in 1904; without after November 1905. Valid only until 31 October 1908. It was also used in the Levant post-offices. So I guess the postcard was posted between 1904 and 1905.