Greetings from Christmas Past
One hundred years ago, postcards were the most common and easiest way to communicate with loved ones not only across countries whilst on holidays, but across neighbourhoods on a daily basis with the minutiae of life on them. This is because unlike today where mail is delivered on a daily basis, there were several deliveries done a day. At the height of the postcard mania in 1903, London residents could have as many as twelve separate visits from the mailman. This means that people in the early Twentieth Century amassed vast collections of picture postcards which today are highly collectible depending upon their theme. This is a selection of British Edwardian Christmas postcards with faerie tale themes.
Top row: Hansel and Gretel (card no 3471), Little Red Riding Hood (card no 3475), Little Snow White (card no 3473) and Cinderella (card no 3472), unknown illustrator, published in Bavaria in 1903 for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six expensive luxury "Art Postcards" embossed cards embellished with gold. The remaining two not shown here are Puss in Boots and Sleeping Beauty.
Middle row from left to right: Dick Whittington (featuring a removable sixteen page book on the front with the story "arranged in rhyme for the little ones"), unknown illustrator, card number 554 published in England for B.B. London (circa 1910).
Cinderella illustrated by Ellen Jessie Andrews, (card no 1815 II) published in Saxony (circa 1903) for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six "Christmas Postcards".
Hansel and Gretel (card no 8097) published in Germany (circa 1908) for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six "Christmas Postcards".
Cinderella (unknown illustrator or card publisher) circa 1910.
Sleeping Beauty illustrated by Ellen Jessie Andrews, (card no 1815 I) published in Saxony (circa 1903) for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six "Christmas Postcards".
Middle row from left to right: Beauty and the Beast (featuring a removable fourteen page book on the front with the story "arranged in rhyme for the little ones"), unknown illustrator, card number 627 published in England for B.B. London (circa 1910).
Bottom row: The Wild Swans, The Snow Queen, The Little Match Girl, The Little Mermaid, The Ice Maiden and What the Moon Saw, the complete set of six Hans Anderson Fairy Tales illustrated by Sydney Carter, printed in Germany for S. Hildesheimer and Company of London and Manchester (circa 1906).
Raphael Tuck & Sons was a business started by Raphael Tuck and his wife in Bishopsgate in the City of London in October 1866, selling pictures and greeting cards, and eventually selling books and picture postcards, which was their most successful line. Their business was one of the best known in the "postcard boom" of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their contributions left a lasting effect on most of the artistic world. During the Blitz on London during the Second World War, the company headquarters, Raphael House, was destroyed including the originals for most of their series. The company never fully recovered. The company combined with two others, to become the British Printing Corporation (renamed British Printing & Communications Corporation in 1982 and finally Maxwell Communications Corporation in 1987), which was originally located only a short distance from where the first shop of Ernestine and Raphael Tuck once stood.
Ellen Jessie Andrews (1857 - 1907) was one of Raphael Tuck's most senior artists. She was renown as a painter of children. She worked in the greetings and card industry for over twenty years, illustrating books and cards prior to her untimely death. Ellen (known as Eddie) was born in Camberwell, London, the third of four sisters in an affluent shipping family. She exhibited a painting at the Royal Academy in 1897.
Siegmund Hildesheimer (1832 - 1896) was a German-born British publisher, best known for Christmas and other greetings cards, and postcards, produced by Siegmund Hildesheimer and Company Ltd, in London and Manchester. In 1881 went into partnership with Charles William Faulkner, as Hildesheimer & Faulkner, with offices at 41 Jewin Street, London.
Sydney Carter (1874 - 1945) was born in Enfield, the son of artist Richard Carter. He took after his father and Sydney's portraits and landscapes are well known and highly sought after. He worked in oils and with gouache. He also worked as a cartoonist and a postcard artist, working almost exclusively for Siegmund Hildesheimer throughout the early 1900s. He eventually took up residence in South Africa where he lived from 1923 until his death.
Greetings from Christmas Past
One hundred years ago, postcards were the most common and easiest way to communicate with loved ones not only across countries whilst on holidays, but across neighbourhoods on a daily basis with the minutiae of life on them. This is because unlike today where mail is delivered on a daily basis, there were several deliveries done a day. At the height of the postcard mania in 1903, London residents could have as many as twelve separate visits from the mailman. This means that people in the early Twentieth Century amassed vast collections of picture postcards which today are highly collectible depending upon their theme. This is a selection of British Edwardian Christmas postcards with faerie tale themes.
Top row: Hansel and Gretel (card no 3471), Little Red Riding Hood (card no 3475), Little Snow White (card no 3473) and Cinderella (card no 3472), unknown illustrator, published in Bavaria in 1903 for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six expensive luxury "Art Postcards" embossed cards embellished with gold. The remaining two not shown here are Puss in Boots and Sleeping Beauty.
Middle row from left to right: Dick Whittington (featuring a removable sixteen page book on the front with the story "arranged in rhyme for the little ones"), unknown illustrator, card number 554 published in England for B.B. London (circa 1910).
Cinderella illustrated by Ellen Jessie Andrews, (card no 1815 II) published in Saxony (circa 1903) for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six "Christmas Postcards".
Hansel and Gretel (card no 8097) published in Germany (circa 1908) for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six "Christmas Postcards".
Cinderella (unknown illustrator or card publisher) circa 1910.
Sleeping Beauty illustrated by Ellen Jessie Andrews, (card no 1815 I) published in Saxony (circa 1903) for the British postcard market by Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of a set of six "Christmas Postcards".
Middle row from left to right: Beauty and the Beast (featuring a removable fourteen page book on the front with the story "arranged in rhyme for the little ones"), unknown illustrator, card number 627 published in England for B.B. London (circa 1910).
Bottom row: The Wild Swans, The Snow Queen, The Little Match Girl, The Little Mermaid, The Ice Maiden and What the Moon Saw, the complete set of six Hans Anderson Fairy Tales illustrated by Sydney Carter, printed in Germany for S. Hildesheimer and Company of London and Manchester (circa 1906).
Raphael Tuck & Sons was a business started by Raphael Tuck and his wife in Bishopsgate in the City of London in October 1866, selling pictures and greeting cards, and eventually selling books and picture postcards, which was their most successful line. Their business was one of the best known in the "postcard boom" of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their contributions left a lasting effect on most of the artistic world. During the Blitz on London during the Second World War, the company headquarters, Raphael House, was destroyed including the originals for most of their series. The company never fully recovered. The company combined with two others, to become the British Printing Corporation (renamed British Printing & Communications Corporation in 1982 and finally Maxwell Communications Corporation in 1987), which was originally located only a short distance from where the first shop of Ernestine and Raphael Tuck once stood.
Ellen Jessie Andrews (1857 - 1907) was one of Raphael Tuck's most senior artists. She was renown as a painter of children. She worked in the greetings and card industry for over twenty years, illustrating books and cards prior to her untimely death. Ellen (known as Eddie) was born in Camberwell, London, the third of four sisters in an affluent shipping family. She exhibited a painting at the Royal Academy in 1897.
Siegmund Hildesheimer (1832 - 1896) was a German-born British publisher, best known for Christmas and other greetings cards, and postcards, produced by Siegmund Hildesheimer and Company Ltd, in London and Manchester. In 1881 went into partnership with Charles William Faulkner, as Hildesheimer & Faulkner, with offices at 41 Jewin Street, London.
Sydney Carter (1874 - 1945) was born in Enfield, the son of artist Richard Carter. He took after his father and Sydney's portraits and landscapes are well known and highly sought after. He worked in oils and with gouache. He also worked as a cartoonist and a postcard artist, working almost exclusively for Siegmund Hildesheimer throughout the early 1900s. He eventually took up residence in South Africa where he lived from 1923 until his death.