Sunday 29 July 2012

Mickleton, Gloucestershire, c1910

Mickleton, Gloucestershire, circa 1910. Mickleton is the northernmost village in Gloucestershire. The building on the left in the postcard has been replaced by a modern building. Postcard by Young and Co. of Teddington. Click the postcard to enlarge.



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Wednesday 25 July 2012

Fleet, Hampshire, Station Approach c1913

Fleet, Hampshire, Station Approach circa 1913. The scene looks quite different now, though the layout is essentially the same. The Station Hotel referred to on the left is now called 'The Links Hotel'. It looks like the woman is about to pay the cab driver. Postcard by W. H. Applebee of Ashford. Click the postcard to enlarge.



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Friday 20 July 2012

Brentford, Middlesex, The High Street c1922

Brentford, Middlesex, The High Street circa 1922. Almost nothing in the modern Google Street View has survived from the postcard's time. I had to use the excellent Brentford High Street Project website to identify the location of this postcard. There is a picture from 1981 on the Brentford Dock website which shows the building on the left of the postcard in its last days. There is an old looking building in the Google Street View on the left - you can just see its roof on the old postcard. The pub on the right was called 'The Feathers'. The postcard was published by the well-known publishers C. & A. G. Lewis of Nottingham. Click the postcard for an enlargement (300dpi).

For more old photos you may care to visit the Sepia Saturday blog.



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Monday 16 July 2012

Hounslow, Middlesex, Bath Road c1930

Hounslow, Middlesex, Bath Road circa 1930. The Earl Haig pub we can see in the postcards was demolished in the 1960s and replaced by the current pub. The post office has gone too. The large white building you can see in the Google Street View was the Odeon Cinema, originally the Ambassador. It opened in 1936 and closed in 1984. The top postcard was by Charles Mitchell of Hampton, the bottom one, which is slightly earlier, was by an unknown photographer who specialised in postcards of pubs and other businesses. I have several postcards by him (or her). Click the postcards to enlarge.



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Wednesday 11 July 2012

Lane End, Buckinghamshire, Marlow Road c1913

Lane End, Buckinghamshire, Marlow Road circa 1913. Lane End is a village to the west of High Wycombe. The terraced houses on the right have lost their stable entrance and gained a ground-floor window. A gap now appears next to that. The charmingly named pub 'The Bottom House' is now a private residence. It is a listed building and the building has retained its old name. For another old postcard of Lane End have a look at this post. Postcard by W. H. Applebee of Ashford c1913. Click the postcard to enlarge.



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Friday 6 July 2012

Richmond, Surrey, The Castle Hotel, Baby Jumbo and Baby Jimbo of the Daily Mirror, c1912

Richmond, Surrey, The Castle Hotel, Baby Jumbo and Baby Jimbo of the Daily Mirror, circa 1912. About a hundred years ago the Daily Mirror newspaper imported into Britain two baby elephants, to be used for promotional purposes. Postcards of them come up occasionally on eBay. They appear to have been used to promote all sorts of events, from early aviation displays to opening restaurants etc. Nowadays we have 'celebrities' with orange skin, tattoos and gleaming teeth to do this sort of thing. I haven't been able to find out much information about these two elephants. It looks like Baby Jimbo died first and Baby Jumbo was left on his (or her) own to carry out the promotional duties, dying a little later. Neither elephant made it to adulthood. Elephants fare better in their native habitat, not freezing cold England. This postcard was taken outside the old Castle hotel in Richmond (also shown in another view below the elephants in a postcard by Bell photo of Harlesden). It was knocked down in the 1980s. Ebay's UK head office now occupies the site where these elephants were photographed. The postcard was photographed and published by Lovell Smith of Richmond. For more old photos visit the Sepia Saturday blog, where the theme this week is elephants.

Click the postcards to enlarge.


Tuesday 3 July 2012

Covent Garden, London c1910

Covent Garden, London c1910. Covent Garden was one of London's main fruit and vegetable markets until the 1970s. It is now a shopping centre and tourist attraction in its own right and well worth a visit. It is also very close to London's theatreland. There are many clubs and bars, restaurants, shops and museums nearby and the Royal Opera House is also there. Postcard by the prolific publishers LL. Click the postcard to enlarge.



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