Michael shares his postcards from the past
AS a boy, Michael Richardson enjoyed leafing through family photograph albums. That set him on the path of lifelong collecting of images of his birthplace of Durham City and its surrounding villages. Michael, 55, has built up an archive of 15,000 items, dating from the middle of the 19th Century, of photographs, lantern slides and postcards. In recognition of his work, he has been awarded lifelong membership by Durham City Trust and also Durham Museum and Heritage Centre. “My family has lived in Durham for more than 200 years. It’s a special place, and various elderly relatives had connections with the city,” he says. “As a child, I loved looking through their photograph albums and listening to their stories.” Now Michael has dipped into his collection to compile the new book Durham: The Postcard Collection, from Amberley Publishing at £14.99. Most of the postcards date from the first decade of the last century. “At this time, postcards were the cheapest and most attractive method of communication before the telephone,” says Michael.
At the peak of what is looked upon as a “golden age” by collectors, more than two million cards were being posted daily. Sent in the morning, they could arrive in nearby towns and villages in the afternoon.
Local photographers jumped on the bandwagon, and bigger companies employed artists to paint scenes for postcards.
Durham Cathedral and Castle were portrayed in paint and by photograph from every angle and in all seasons.
One in Michael’s collection is by artist Henry Bowser Wimbush, who exhibited at the Royal Academy.
Another Royal Academy artist was Durham’s Frank Thompson, who ranged across the region, painting its scenes.
In amongst the myriad views of the cathedral is a 1904, rather racy novelty card.
The blacked out cathedral and trees at night provide the backdrop for speech bubbles suggesting amorous encounters, with one left vacant for the sender to include words of their own.
One card features Durham Gaol in 1907, with horse-drawn prison van at the entrance.
From outlying villages is a card depicting Tiny, described as the “greatest bullock in England” and at 222st they were probably right. He was killed by Thurkettle and Sons of Pity Me in 1923 to raise funds for Durham County Hospital.
A postcard from the village of Waterhouses shows miners from the local colliery during the General Strike of 1926, exercising the pit ponies.
Michael says: “The archive continues to grow and the quality of images still turning up always amazes me, especially as they have been hidden away for years in attics, cupboards and suitcases.”