Andrew70
Bedfordshire |
1 of 6
Mon 30th Dec 2024 2:27pm
Hello all,
I collect postcards of Bedfordshire so have several published by Valentine's in my collection.
Recently I noticed that two - superficially similar, but different - cards have the same serial number.
I was wondering if that is common for this publisher, or is it an anomoly?
Cheers.
|
Non-Coventry - | |
PhiliPamInCoventry
Holbrooks |
2 of 6
Mon 30th Dec 2024 5:26pm
Hello to you Andrew,
Welcome to our anything Coventry forum.
Pull up a chair & pass the port, please.
Hope you enjoy your times with us. |
Non-Coventry - | |
Rob Orland
Historic Coventry |
3 of 6
Mon 30th Dec 2024 7:25pm
Great question, Andrew! I think I can answer this reasonably confidently by saying that, in my experience collecting Coventry postcards, many of which are Valentine, the serial number appears to apply to the original photograph, and not the postcard it appears on.
I wonder if you found our forum after coming across this associated Postcard Dating page of mine? Your serial number appears to return a photo-taken date of 1905. Many cards, of course, were still being sold several years after the scene they depicted. I was lucky to find a typed list of serial number ranges and associated dates for Valentine cards, which I used as the basis on which to build the online database, but I do wish there was a similar list available for the other popular postcard makers, as some views can be very tricky to date (although I suppose that's part of the fun!). |
Non-Coventry - | |
rocksolid
Bristol |
4 of 6
Mon 30th Dec 2024 10:06pm
Andrew,
You may be interested to learn that the University of St Andrews holds the James Valentine Photographic Collection. As far as I can tell (the website is a bit difficult to navigate but that may be just my incompetence) it comprises over 50,000 images, covering many subjects but there are a lot of pre-war photos of Coventry which I have found most useful. There appear to be 36 images of Bedford including the one you illustrated. Here is a link:
https://collections.st-andrews.ac.uk/search/?query=Format%3A+bedford+%22photogra....
I hope this helps. |
Non-Coventry - | |
Andrew70
Bedfordshire Thread starter
|
5 of 6
Tue 31st Dec 2024 4:17pm
On 30th Dec 2024 7:25pm, Rob Orland said:
Great question, Andrew! I think I can answer this reasonably confidently by saying that, in my experience collecting Coventry postcards, many of which are Valentine, the serial number appears to apply to the original photograph, and not the postcard it appears on.
I wonder if you found our forum after coming across this associated Postcard Dating page of mine? Your serial number appears to return a photo-taken date of 1905. Many cards, of course, were still being sold several years after the scene they depicted. I was lucky to find a typed list of serial number ranges and associated dates for Valentine cards, which I used as the basis on which to build the online database, but I do wish there was a similar list available for the other popular postcard makers, as some views can be very tricky to date (although I suppose that's part of the fun!).
Hello Rob,
Yes, a link to the Valentine's card dating page was shared on a card collectors facebook page. I had a look around the rest of the site, saw the forum, and thought I'd ask the question.
Regards,
Andrew.
Edit.
I agree with you regarding the apparent lack of centralised resources for what is such a longstanding and enduringly popular hobby.
I'm trying to assemble a spreadsheet of numbers for Bells postcards (Leigh-on-Sea/Westcliffe-on-Sea) but it's early days and very slow going and as a company, they don't seem to have been as organised or consistent as Valentine's when it came to numbering and sequences. Still, keeps me off the streets... |
Non-Coventry - | |
Andrew70
Bedfordshire Thread starter
|
6 of 6
Tue 31st Dec 2024 4:22pm
On 30th Dec 2024 10:06pm, rocksolid said:
Andrew,
You may be interested to learn that the University of St Andrews holds the James Valentine Photographic Collection. As far as I can tell (the website is a bit difficult to navigate but that may be just my incompetence) it comprises over 50,000 images, covering many subjects but there are a lot of pre-war photos of Coventry which I have found most useful. There appear to be 36 images of Bedford including the one you illustrated. Here is a link:
https://collections.st-andrews.ac.uk/search/?query=Format%3A+bedford+%22photogra....
I hope this helps.
Hello Rock
As so often happens, shortly after I'd posted my question I found that site myself by other means.
Once I'd read that number recycling did occur, that answered my question enough to satisfy my curiosity.
I decided to leave my original question in place as there's always a chance someone else has encountered the same but just hasn't got around to asking.
Maybe that's a challenge that could be issued - share images of known duplications.
Regards,
Andrew. |
Non-Coventry - |
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