When I’m researching old postcards, it’s sometimes a struggle to identify the publisher and often difficult to find out much information about them.
I was delighted to discover the amazing TuckDB Postcards, which has documented over 135,000 cards from the famous publisher.
CDF 72 – Castle Coch, Near Cardiff (1959)
I bought this postcard a couple of years ago. It was posted in 1959 and shows the castle viewed from the present-day golf course.
This is a common viewpoint but a unique photo with the leaves in the foreground.
TuckDB has another example of this card. It’s one of 49 cards in a set produced around 1950.
The TuckDB Collection
The next two cards are from the TuckDB Collection.
The website is a fantastic resource for finding old images of Wales. The database contains lots of information about each card and it’s easy to filter and sort the results.
There’s a full history of the company, its founders and the impact they had.
TW12 – Castell Coch, Taffs Well
The TuckDB entry shows this card is part of a set from the Taffs Well area. The other cards include views of the Garth, River Taff and Craig yr Allt.
History
Dating these two cards is very tricky. The first thing I noticed is that they don’t have the Royal Warrant. Queen Victoria granted the firm the Royal Warrant of Appointment in 1883 and Tuck cards supposedly bore the message, “Art Publishers to Her Majesty the Queen” thereafter.
I doubt these cards were produced before 1883 though, as the divided back wasn’t introduced until 1902. Tuck didn’t produce its first series of postcards until 1899.
Tuck published most of their cards using trademarks like “Collotype” and “Silverette”. This collection of views from Cardiff were part of the “Oilette” series and posted in the early 1910s. Another collection of views from Cardiff from the “Glosso” series were posted in the early 1900s.
The “Collo-Sepia” series include a set of views from Cardiff that have very similar text on the front. This set includes a photo used on a card sent in 1922 so I’m going to take a guess that these cards were produced sometime in the early 1900s.
TW11 – Castell Coch, Tongwynlais
The TuckDB entry doesn’t explain why this card is titled, “Castell Coch, Tongwynlais” while the previous card is, “Castell Coch, Taffs Well”. Does this suggest the photos were taken at different times, despite being in the same series?
Sources
The postcards TW11, TW12 and the “Collo-Sepia” Set Cover are from the TuckDB collection. The postcards are part of a collection from the Taffs Well area.
Fascinating to see how my grandfather, at age 15, would have remembered his hometown of Tongwynlais and Castle Coch after he left Ton in 1910 to go to West Hartlepool for work.
Thank you!