No letter today. Just this:
* TIDBIT *
Greg wrote these postcards while relaxing at the American Officers' Red Cross Club during this 48-hour pass to London. He sent the first to Wilma's parents, and the second to Wilma. In both cases, the censor's stamp was placed over the text of the message, so that the address would be clear. The word "FREE" was written where a stamp would be placed. Wilma's annotations on the postcard sent to her parents indicate that it was received on the 25th of February, more than a month later.
A Royal Warrant allowed the words "Fine Art Publishers to their Majesties the King and Queen and to Her Majesty Queen Mary" to be imprinted in addition to a logo bearing the words "By Appointment". These two postcards seem to come from a series as they are labeled "Gravure Postcard London" Nos. 14E and 14D. That they bear words of encouragement regarding the war effort from the Prime Minister indicates they were produced early in the war, as the London factory was destroyed by bombs on the 29th of December, 1940.
Most Deltiologists (postcard collectors) know the name Raphael Tuck and Sons as one of the most prestigious and prolific postcard publishing companies. It was the sons of Raphael, Adolph Tuck in particular, who managed the explosive growth of this successful business in its early postcard era. Raphael had moved to England from Prussia in 1865 to set up a business selling picture frames from a small shop. By 1870 they were importing and publishing printed paper products.
In 1879 the young Adolph Tuck offered prizes of a total of 500 guineas (which would be about US $10,000 today) to design new Christmas cards. Five thousand designs were submitted and were judged by members of the Royal Academy. An exhibition was held in the Dudley Galleries in Piccadilly, London. Newspapers around the world reported the enormous success. Suddenly, the name Raphael Tuck was known worldwide. Christmas cards were in common use thereafter.
By 1881 Adolph was running Tuck's. In 1893, the company was awarded its first Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria, a measure of its sudden success in Britain. By the end of the 19th century Tuck's had become a major publisher of prints, Christmas and Valentines cards, scrapbook scraps, paper dolls, books, and calendars.
In November 1899 British Postal regulations were changed so that British publishers could, for the first time, publish picture postcards at the full Universal Postal Union agreed size of 5.5 by 3.5 inches. Adolph Tuck's company was the first to publish such cards with the immediate release of a set of 12 London View vignettes. Others sets swiftly followed and the postcard boom had begun.
Adolph was an astute businessman and clever marketeer. In 1900, to promote sales, his company announced a postcard collecting competition, offering a prize for the biggest collection of Tuck's postcards. This triggered a craze and several more competitions followed. Another effort to stimulate sales came in 1903 when Tuck followed the traditions of the art market and published limited edition proof sets targeted at the collector. All of this placed Tuck's firmly at the foundation of the postcard collecting boom with Adolph Tuck leading the way into the pre-WWI golden era of postcard collecting.
Adolph died in 1926 but the Tuck's business continued into the 1960's when it was sold. Unfortunately, early company records, archives of artwork, original photographs and designs were lost in that 1940 London air raid.
Much of this information came from a blog called About Postcards.
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A Royal Warrant allowed the words "Fine Art Publishers to their Majesties the King and Queen and to Her Majesty Queen Mary" to be imprinted in addition to a logo bearing the words "By Appointment". These two postcards seem to come from a series as they are labeled "Gravure Postcard London" Nos. 14E and 14D. That they bear words of encouragement regarding the war effort from the Prime Minister indicates they were produced early in the war, as the London factory was destroyed by bombs on the 29th of December, 1940.
Most Deltiologists (postcard collectors) know the name Raphael Tuck and Sons as one of the most prestigious and prolific postcard publishing companies. It was the sons of Raphael, Adolph Tuck in particular, who managed the explosive growth of this successful business in its early postcard era. Raphael had moved to England from Prussia in 1865 to set up a business selling picture frames from a small shop. By 1870 they were importing and publishing printed paper products.
In 1879 the young Adolph Tuck offered prizes of a total of 500 guineas (which would be about US $10,000 today) to design new Christmas cards. Five thousand designs were submitted and were judged by members of the Royal Academy. An exhibition was held in the Dudley Galleries in Piccadilly, London. Newspapers around the world reported the enormous success. Suddenly, the name Raphael Tuck was known worldwide. Christmas cards were in common use thereafter.
By 1881 Adolph was running Tuck's. In 1893, the company was awarded its first Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria, a measure of its sudden success in Britain. By the end of the 19th century Tuck's had become a major publisher of prints, Christmas and Valentines cards, scrapbook scraps, paper dolls, books, and calendars.
In November 1899 British Postal regulations were changed so that British publishers could, for the first time, publish picture postcards at the full Universal Postal Union agreed size of 5.5 by 3.5 inches. Adolph Tuck's company was the first to publish such cards with the immediate release of a set of 12 London View vignettes. Others sets swiftly followed and the postcard boom had begun.
Adolph was an astute businessman and clever marketeer. In 1900, to promote sales, his company announced a postcard collecting competition, offering a prize for the biggest collection of Tuck's postcards. This triggered a craze and several more competitions followed. Another effort to stimulate sales came in 1903 when Tuck followed the traditions of the art market and published limited edition proof sets targeted at the collector. All of this placed Tuck's firmly at the foundation of the postcard collecting boom with Adolph Tuck leading the way into the pre-WWI golden era of postcard collecting.
Adolph died in 1926 but the Tuck's business continued into the 1960's when it was sold. Unfortunately, early company records, archives of artwork, original photographs and designs were lost in that 1940 London air raid.
Much of this information came from a blog called About Postcards.
