Interest on the cards for rare Churchill portrait
A fascinating collection of more than 2,000 postcards ranging from a rare signed portrait of a young Sir Winston Churchill to humorous cartoons and 20th century theatrical personalities will be sold at a Shropshire fine art auction house in November.
The collection has been assembled by fine art auctioneers Halls in Shrewsbury from several owners for an auction on November 22.
Caroline Dennard, Halls’ postcard specialist, believes the combined value of the postcards will be more than £3,000.
“This is a broad archive of postcards, all consigned from private hands and which have, until now, often been cherished by the families of the original collectors and compilers of the albums,” said Caroline.
“The numerous albums represent what was, in the late 19th and early 20th century, the reliable mainstay form of communication between friends and family.
“The cards range from humorous cartoons to topographical and photographs of famous accidents. There are also two albums dedicated to Shropshire-related scenes.
“Even the albums which they are contained in are works of art in themselves, demonstrating the artistic style of the Art Nouveau to the Art Deco.
“The cards that appeal most to collectors are ones depicting scenes which could not easily be found today. From early motoring history, to changing landscapes in towns and city centres and even shots of people going about their daily lives, they all hold interest.”
The collection also includes many early 20th century theatre-related postcards.
One album is dedicated to Edna May, a 20th century American actress and singer who made her home on Britain. Born Edna May Pettie (1878-1948), she was known by her stage name of Edna May and was a popular postcard beauty famous for her leading roles in Edwardian musical comedies.
Caroline said her personal favourite is an early postcard portrait of a young Sir Winston Churchill.
“For Churchill collectors, simply the date of the photograph holds enough interest alone, possibly being the earliest known portrait of him to feature on a postcard,” she said.
“What is even more exciting is that this card is signed by the man himself. Fervour and intrigue around Churchill remains at an all-time high and such a rare combination of factors means that we are estimating the value of this postcard at a conservative £400 to £600.”
The postcards will be available to view online from early November. For more information about the sale, call Caroline on Tel: 01743 450 700 or email carolined@hallsgb.com.
