PPM - Picture Postcard Monthly

Ken notches up 300 sales
The organisation of 300 specialised
postcard auctions is quite
some landmark, but that is what
Ken Lawson achieves this month.
He has been holding sales under
his SPA banner since 1976, when
the first event took place at
Caxton Hall, Westminster - a pioneering
concept in that picture
postcards up to that point had not
been recognised as having
auction potential in their own
right. Ken had been selling old
postcards retail for a couple of
years at Middlesex Collectors
Centre in Wembley, and weekly at
Portobello Market. Previously he
had worked for the Kensington
Post as administration manager
and for Antiques Trade Gazette,
where he sold advertising space.
A colleague on the Gazette introduced
him to the charms of old
picture postcards.
The London connection was interrupted
in 1982, when Ken moved to
Cheltenham, and for a couple of years
he alternated sales between Cheltenham
Galleries and Caxton Hall before finally
severing his links with the capital. In
1986, he moved on to Cirencester, where
he bought his own premises, Corinium
Galleries. As well as holding auctions
there, Ken organised postcard fairs -
around
250
monthly
events
over a
period of
20-odd
years, and
small collectables
sales. The
fair
became a
popular
event with
dealers,
many of
whom travelled long distances. Six years
ago, he downsized, moving to a residential
property across the road from the
Galleries and continuing his auctions on
a postal-only basis. Ken Lawson was the
first chairman of the Postcard Traders
Association when that was formed in
1975, and oversaw the first few Bipexes,
which were held initially at Westminster’s
Central Hall. He also co-compiled with
Tony Warr two booklets in a series called
Postcards for Pleasure, effectively catalogues
of the postcards of Tom Browne
and Lance Thackeray. Those artists -
and postcards of Sandy in Bedfordshire,
where he grew up, are his favourites.
Ken still loves holding postcard auctions,
giving as it does the chance to handle
lots of wonderful postcards. Asked to
name the best postcard he’d ever auctioned,
Ken was at a loss, but he did tell
PPM that the late Michael Goodman
used to tease him that he’d once bought
very cheaply a postcard sent from Titanic
at an SPA auction - still, it’s easy to miss
these things!
Jersey postcard
fair rescued
When Jersey’s
Antique and Collectors
Fair, usually held in
November, was cancelled,
a few local
postcard enthusiasts,
desperate to get their
annual fix, rectified the
situation by booking a
hall and holding their
own ‘book and postcard
fair’. Although
most of the centre of
the hall was freely
given over to a local
charity selling books,
there was still room for
twelve six-foot tables in
the surrounding areas,
half of which offered
postcards. There were
old cards, modern
cards, and UK, French
and other foreign
cards, and it was good
to see a couple of
tables taken by ‘off
island’ collectors.
The date clashed
with various other
events held in Jersey
that weekend and,
despite being organised
at short notice, the
footfall was impressive.
Visitors included day
trippers from
Guernsey, tourists and
a goodly number of
locals, and all those
participating thought it had been well
worth the effort. There is talk of a
similar event being held in 2012 when,
subject to space being available, it is
hoped to invite a couple of coin and
stamp dealers to join in.
� Advertiser Robert Noble recently
fielded a phone call from someone
who’d just bought a copy of PPM from
the year 2000 and wondered if he was
still in business! Robert was happy to
assure him that he was still merrily
selling postcards in bulk.
HAYWARDS HEATH
INTERNATIONAL
Postcard, Cigarette Card and Collectors Fair
The top event of its kind in the Southern Counties!
Saturday 4 February
10.30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
55 Tables specialising in:
POSTCARDS *CIGARETTE CARDS *EPHEMERA *STAMPS
*POSTAL HISTORY *ALBUMS *ACCESSORIES ETC.
Clair Hall, Perrymount Road,
HAYWARDS HEATH
West Sussex
Admission £1 Refreshments Free Parking
Dealers booked include:
* Brian Girling * Tim Notley * John Kidson * Rob Roy Albums
* Toni Michaels * Mike Felmore *Peter Milam * Janice Withers
* Chris Burchett *Beacon Postcards * Peter Holroyd * Michael
Lee * Lesley Davies * Peter Robinson * Topo Plus
* Peter Lindfield * Jackie Worling * Graham Green
* Mick Devonald * Peter King * Philip Chipperfield
*Andrew Bowker * Roy Allen
* Chris Hoskins * Dave Peet * Michael Goldsmith
* Peter Duncan * Jane Dembrey
- and more to come!
For further information and bookings:
Rosemary Shepherd/Beacon Fairs 01892-662132
Future Dates: 3 March, 7 April 2012
Rail bargains
For those people who travel to postcard fairs by train, it’s worth a reminder that companies
release cheap tickets three months prior to travel, so booking as soon as possible
after those publication dates is important. Top-value tickets for travel to York, for
instance (Cardexpo at The Racecourse is April 13-14th), were put on sale on January
13th.
Reflections on Twitter
In the Edwardian age, picture postcards were the twitter of the day - or so I
keep telling people, writes Brian Lund. Collectables expert Paul Atterbury also
used that line on the Antiques Road Show recently. So with that in mind we’ve
embarked on the modern day twitter in an attempt to spread the postcard word
far and wide. It involves a few brief words of wisdom (who am I kidding?) when
I feel like it, hoping that more connections equals more possibilities, and that
lots of other twitter users will connect with postcard collecting. If you want to
have a look at what’s going on, you can follow the action @Postcard_World
(now that’s a contentious title!) when you’ve signed up (free) for Twitter on the
internet. Given the astonishing lack of awareness that some mainstream TV presenters
involved in antiques and collectables display (no names, no pack drill),
we certainly need to put across the postcard message more widely.
Picture Postcard Monthly February 2012 5