Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Bamforth Postcards



Bamforth & Co. of Holmfirth  (England) and New York published this postcard circa 1910 ("photo only copyright 1910"). It was printed in England and is part of Series No. 1648. I wish I knew what the rest of the series is about. The other postcards in the series are probably  related to some aspect of this scene--but which one? The reason I bought this postcard is that I collect "postcards about postcards," and this card has a Bamforth's display in the background (see enlarged detail below).


I often have difficulty in understanding the humor on postcards from the early twentieth century, even when they are American. This postcard was used in the U.S., but its style is more English than American. I suspect this postcard would probably be understood better by someone in England--and there are many Sepians from England. Can anyone identify the "well-known paper?" The humor on postcards often depends on words or phrases with more than one meaning. In this case, the humor on the postcard also seems to depend on the various meanings of "take in."

Bamforth & Co was started in 1870 by James Bamforth, a portrait photographer. In the late 19th century the company specialized in making lantern slides. Bamforth postcards evolved from the slides by the early 1900s. Their early postcards were based on photographs and included illustrated songs and comic subjects. By 1905 there were branches in New York and London, although the main office remained in Holmfirth. By the end of WWI 20,000,000 cards were being printed every year, and artist drawn postcards were more popular. Bamforth continued producing postcards through most of the twentieth century.  The company was best known for its saucy seaside comics, a peculiarly British phenomenon.



For More Vintage Images

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2014/07/sepia-saturday-239-2-august-2014.html

16 comments:

  1. I'm with you -- the humor goes right over my head. I've looked at cartoons in old papers and just shake my head -- don't get 'em. So I end up thinking they're lame and amateurish.

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  2. I wonder if "take in" means to carry or to stock the paper - as in, "Do you have "Woman"? Your
    collection of 'postcards about postcards' is very interesting and must be fun to seek out.

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    1. I'm sure that's one of the meanings, but it wouldn't be humorous if that were the only meaning.

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  3. It's definitely a play on words deserving, perhaps, a chuckle or two - maybe?

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  4. I will be the one to shed the light. ‘Woman’ is a well-known weekly magazine in UK, although you wouldn’t recognise the current version if you looked at the originals. My Mum and My Gran read it along with ‘Woman’s Own’ which has suffered the same fate of dumbing down. The customer is asking if he stocks the magazine and the shopkeeper is answering that he no longer ‘takes in’ (as in lead them on with false pretences) ladies and is now trustworthy.

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    1. I just realized that what I thought was a "P" is actually a "?"

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  5. Very clever with a nudge, nudge -- wink, wink. Do you have a self replicating one - i.e. a postcard within itself?

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    1. Not if you mean something like the "Droste effect."

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  6. If I were him, I would be very careful what I said to a lady with a parasol.

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  7. Another great choice from the Post Card treasures you have. Thanks Little Nell for your explanation - it eluded me too.

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  8. Holmfirth is just up the road from here and I am very familiar with Bamfords. In the early years of the twentieth century they experimented with cinematography and some of the very first films made in England were made in Holmfirth. People often say around here that Holmfirth could have been Holywood - if it hadn't been for the rain.

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  9. How humour has changed over the years!

    I am too literal I think! My husband can be laughing his head off at something and I just think it is stupid and can't see why he thinks something is so funny! I

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  10. Thanks for dropping by. Interesting we both posted Bamforth's and Alan dropped by to mention they still make postcards.

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  11. Most enjoyable, just have to put my mindset into early 20th century, and know about the publication. But getting taken in has certainly happened to many "Woman" s...

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  12. What I really find fascinating is the handwork on this one. Someone did a pasteup of a couple different photos to put it together, thus the size of the woman so out of proportion to the man. Wouldn't it be grand if somewhere the old pasteups still existed?

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  13. I got the intended play on words, but it would have been clearer if the magazine's title was 'Women', as Woman is stretching it a bit.

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