A Message from the Backs: A 1904 Glimpse of St John’s College

 There is a specific kind of magic found in the tactile nature of an antique postcard. It isn’t just the image on the front—a hand-tinted window into a vanished era—but the frantic, ink-smudged scribbles on the reverse that turn a piece of ephemera into a time machine. Today, we’re looking at a beautiful specimen from the early 20th century: a view of the New Court at St John’s College, Cambridge, sent with a hurried note of congratulations.

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The View: "The Wedding Cake"

The front of the card features a stunning colour lithograph of what was then referred to as the "New Buildings" of St John’s College. Completed between 1826 and 1831 by architect Thomas Rickman, this Neo-Gothic masterpiece is more commonly known to students and locals as "The Wedding Cake" due to its ornate, tiered central lantern tower.

At the time this photo was taken, these buildings were already nearly 80 years old, but they still represented a "modern" expansion of the medieval college across the River Cam. The postcard captures the building from the "Backs"—the famous stretch of lawns and gardens that run along the river. Note the crispness of the Gothic arches and the delicate hand-tinting of the trees; it evokes a quiet, scholarly afternoon where the only sound might have been the splash of an oar or the rustle of a gown.

Dating the Artifact

When was this postcard published? We have a few "smoking guns" that help us pin down the date with remarkable accuracy:

1. The Postmark: The most obvious clue. The circular date stamp from Chelmsford is clearly marked AP 23 04 (April 23, 1904).

2. The Stamp: The green half-penny stamp features King Edward VII. Given he ascended the throne in 1901, the card must be post-1901.

3. The "Divided Back": Notice the vertical line down the middle of the reverse side. Before 1902, the Post Office required the entire back of a card to be reserved for the address, forcing senders to scrawl their messages across the image on the front. Britain was one of the first to allow the "divided back" (address on the right, message on the left) in January 1902.

4. The Publisher: The left edge identifies this as "The Wrench Series, No. 11328." Wrench & Son was a prolific postcard publisher that went into colonial liquidation in late 1904.

Estimated Publishing Date: Likely late 1903 or early 1904. It was printed in Saxony (Germany), which was the world capital for high-quality lithographic printing until the outbreak of WWI.

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The Human Element: "Please excuse these smudges"

The back of the card is where the history becomes personal. Written in a confident, flowing hand, a woman named Irene writes to a Miss G. Self in Mountnessing, near Brentwood.

"I am so glad you have passed, I had a P.C. [Postcard] from someone (S.G.W.) dont know who it was, to tell me about it. I am going to Sidcup on Monday. Love from Irene."

She adds a charming, relatable apology in the top left corner: "Please excuse these smudges." It’s a tiny moment of Victorian/Edwardian etiquette—Irene was likely writing in a hurry, perhaps using a dip pen, and didn't have a blotter handy.

The mention of Miss Self having "passed" suggests a successful exam result. In 1904, educational opportunities for women were expanding rapidly, though they were still a few decades away from being granted full degrees at Cambridge itself. Whether Miss Self passed a local teacher’s exam or a music certification, Irene’s pride is evident.

A Journey Through the Post

The card travelled from Chelmsford to Mountnessing, a distance of only about 10 miles. In 1904, the Royal Mail was so efficient that a card posted in the morning would often arrive by the afternoon. It was the "Instant Messaging" of the Edwardian age.

The address, "Malbrooks," Mountnessing, refers to a house that likely still stands or is remembered in local parish records. This postcard didn't just carry a view of Cambridge; it carried a piece of a social network, connecting friends through the gossip of who "passed" and who was visiting Sidcup.

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Why We Collect

Looking at this card, we see the intersection of architectural grandeur and mundane human life. The "New Buildings" of St John's stand rigid and eternal on the front, while on the back, Irene’s ink smudges remind us that history is made of people who were often in a rush, happy for their friends, and worried about the neatness of their handwriting.

The Quiet Charm of "The Cottage by the Sea"

 Every postcard in a collection tells two stories: the one captured in the ink on the front, and the one hidden in the history on the back. This particular piece, titled "The Cottage by the Sea," is a beautiful example of mid-century Irish nostalgia, pulling us back to a time of rugged coastlines, lime-washed stone, and the slow pace of Atlantic life.

The Scene: A Glimpse into Coastal Life

The front of the card features a vibrant illustration by an artist signed simply as L. Murdoch. The painting depicts a traditional Irish "long cottage" with a heavy, possibly slate or bitumen-coated roof, nestled against a rocky outcrop. The white-washed walls pop against the muted greens and ochres of the surrounding scrubland.

In the background, the deep blue of the sea meets a pale, hazy sky. If you look closely at the path leading toward the water, you can spot two small figures—perhaps children or a couple—adding a sense of scale and life to the otherwise solitary landscape. The artwork captures that specific "soft" Irish light, where the sun feels filtered through a layer of salt spray and Atlantic mist.

Behind the Card: Scholastic Production Co.

Turning the card over reveals its pedigree. It was published by the Scholastic Production Co., Ltd., Belfast, a firm that has become a bit of a cult favourite among postcard collectors (deltiologists).

Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Scholastic Production Company was active from the late 1930s until it was eventually wound up in December 1955. They were known for their "Art Series" postcards, which often featured the work of prominent Irish landscape artists like Maurice Canning Wilks and, of course, the artist of this piece, Lilian Murdoch.

One of the "dead giveaways" for a Scholastic card is the distinctive deckle edge—that wavy, rippled border that gives the card a tactile, vintage feel. This card also bears the "ACME" logo at the top centre, featuring a stylized bird (likely a swift or swallow) carrying a letter, a mark of quality and "British Manufacture" that the company used to distinguish itself from international competitors.

Dating the Postcard

While the card is unposted and lacks a postmark, we can narrow down a likely date of publication:

• Publisher Window: The company operated between ~1938 and 1955.

• The Serial Number: This card is numbered No. 9052. Scholastic’s numbering systems were often "shambolic," as some historians put it, but the 9000-series is generally associated with their later output.

• Artistic Context: Lilian Murdoch was actively supplying artwork to Scholastic during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Given the crispness of the "ACME" logo and the high serial number, it is very likely this card was printed between 1948 and 1953.

A Collector's Note

What makes this card special is its "new-old stock" condition. It never fulfilled its destiny of carrying a "Wish you were here" message through the mail. Instead, it remains a pristine window into the mid-century Irish art scene. For those who love the North Antrim coast or the wild fringes of Donegal, this card isn't just paper—it’s an invitation to a quieter era.

A Window into the Past: The "Photo-Brown" Charm of Nefyn

 There is a specific kind of magic found in the tactile nature of vintage ephemera. As a collector, few things are as satisfying as unfolding a Valentine’s Letter Card. These weren't just postcards; they were miniature, foldable galleries of a traveller’s journey. Today, we’re looking at a beautiful "British Production" from my collection: a 6 View Letter Card of Nevin (now more commonly spelled in the Welsh, Nefyn), nestled on the stunning Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales.

Produced in a rich, sepia-toned "Photo-Brown," this set captures a moment when Nefyn was asserting itself as a premier destination for those seeking rugged beauty, sea air, and the burgeoning social prestige of the golf links.

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The Aesthetic of "Photo-Brown"

Before we dive into the locations, let’s talk about the medium. The "Photo-Brown" process used here was a popular choice for Valentine & Sons, the famous Dundee-based printing giant. By using a monochromatic sepia palette rather than full colour or standard black-and-white, the publisher achieved a sense of warmth and "heritage" even when the photos were contemporary.

The letter card itself is an ingenious design. For the price of a halfpenny stamp (if left unsealed), a visitor could send six distinct views and a short message home. If they had more to say—perhaps about a particularly challenging bunker on the golf course—they could seal it up for a penny-halfpenny.

Exploring the Six Views

The images selected for this card provide a comprehensive "tourist's eye view" of Nefyn and its sister village, Morfa Nefyn.

1. The Two Bays, Nevin: This sweeping aerial-style shot shows the unique geography of the area, where the town sits perched between the Great and Little Bays. You can see the dense clusters of stone houses and the organized strips of farmland stretching toward the sea.

2. Golf Links, Nevin: Perched on the dramatic headland of Porthdinllaen, this course is world-famous today. Here, we see it in its earlier years. The figures on the green, dressed in what appears to be traditional early 20th-century sporting attire, emphasize the area’s transition from a fishing hub to a leisure destination.

1. Nevin Bay & Rivals: This view looks eastward toward the dominant peaks of Yr Eifl (The Rivals). The jagged silhouettes of these mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to the soft curve of the coastline.

2. Nevin Beach: A classic seaside study. The tide is out, revealing a vast expanse of sand dotted with holidaymakers. You can just make out the small bathing huts or structures at the foot of the cliffs, a staple of the British seaside experience.

1. Nevin From Across the Bay: This view highlights the verticality of the village. The houses of Morfa Nefyn seem to cling to the cliffside, with winding paths leading down to the water's edge.

2. Cliff Walk, Morfa Nevin: My personal favourite. It captures the rugged, overgrown path toward Porthdinllaen. It invites the viewer to imagine the wind whipping off the Irish Sea and the scent of gorse in the air.

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Dating the Collection: A Philatelic Clue

One of the most frequent questions I get is: "How do you know when it was made?" Without a postmark, we have to become detectives.

The most significant clue lies on the back of the envelope: "Postage 1½d.—If stuck down and used as letter."

In the United Kingdom, the inland letter rate rose from 1d to 1½d in June 1920. It remained at this price until 1922, briefly dropped, and then fluctuated throughout the interwar period. However, the specific combination of the "Photo-Brown" branding and the typography suggests a publishing date in the mid-to-late 1920s. The serial numbers on the images (ranging from 84000 to 210000) also align with Valentine & Sons’ cataloguing system from the post-WWI era.

There is a settled, peaceful quality to these images that captures the "Long Garden Party" atmosphere of the 1920s, before the Great Depression and the subsequent modernization of the 1930s changed the face of domestic tourism.

Why Nefyn Still Matters

Looking at these images today, what is most striking is how much has not changed. While the cars on the roads are different and the "bathing machines" are gone, the silhouette of The Rivals remains unchanged. The Ty Coch Inn (likely visible as a small speck in the Porthdinllaen views) still serves pints to weary walkers.

This letter card is more than just cardstock and ink; it’s a time capsule of Welsh coastal life. It represents a period when the Llŷn Peninsula was a hidden gem, accessible by rattling trains and early motorcars, offering a "Photo-Brown" escape from the industrial smoke of the cities.