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| Vintage Halloween Post Card by Raphael Tuck Co. |
I found this old post card years ago in the farm house where I grew up. It was addressed to my grandmother by her first name only and signed by the initials of C.M.G. No postage stamp was ever attached or message ever written on it, but it sends to me a clear expression of a simpler time…
Here is some information about it I found on line.
The Raphael Tuck Company began in London, England in 1866 and sold frames and pictures. Raphael Tuck’s three sons joined the business in 1871 and published their first Christmas greeting card. One of the sons, Adolph Tuck, produced their first picture postcard in 1894 of Mt. Snowden in Wales, which was sold to tourists at the site.
In 1898 Tuck’s first numbered series of postcards was printed, a set of 12 lithographed vignette views of London. They were numbered 1 to 12 with the “Tower of London” having the distinction of being the #1 postcard. I have a number 4 in this series.
The TUCK Company entered the American postcard market in 1900 and maintained an office in New York. American artists designed the postcards and they were printed in Germany and England and returned to the U.S. for sale. Most records of the TUCK history were destroyed during the bombing blitz of London during World War II, including the original paintings the postcards were produced from.
TUCK postcards are easy to identify with their distinctive logo as “ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN”.
Enjoy you Halloween Sunday!
The Gourmet Farm Girl