GWR postcards
GWR postcards series 1-3
Series 1
In October 1904 the GWR issued a second set of 25 collotype cards printed by Raphael Tuck and Sons, and this led to a reprint of the set first published in the March. They were now labelled "Series 1." in the top left of the address side, presumably to distinguish them from the new series. A few of the images were amended slightly when published as Series 1 and the word "Goods" was dropped from the title of card 7 which became "Latest Type Great Western Engine", but otherwise the cards were basically identical to when first produced save for the addition of the series title and being printed only in sepia.
1 - Weymouth and the Landing Stage from the Nothe
2 - Great Western Express Passenger Engine
"City of Bath"
3 - Royal Waiting Room, Paddington
4 - Departure Platforms,
Paddington Station.
5 - Great Western Station Hotel, Paddington
6 - An Early Great Western Broad Gauge Engine 'Vulcan'
7 - Latest Type Great Western Engine
8 - Temple Meads Railway Station, Bristol
9 - Entrance To Great Western Tunnel
Twerton near Bath
10 - How our forefathers travelled in the !Forties!
11 - "Up The River", Henley on Thames
12 - The Vale of LLangollen
13 - Great Western Railway Bridge, Maidenhead
14 - The Great Western Royal Train
15 - Windsor Castle
16 - Great Western Railway Bridge, Saltash, built 1859
17 - Great Western Viaduct Ivybridge, near Plymouth
18 - Beautiful Berwyn
19 - A Famous Great Western Broad Gauge Engine
“North Star”
20 - A Charming Great Western Hotel
Tregenna Castle, St. Ives
21 - One of the Great Western
Railway Channel Islands Fleet
22 - Great Western Railway
Bridge over the Severn, Arley
23 - Great Western Viaduct, Pontcysyllte,
near Ruabon
24 - The Lion Rock, Cheddar
25 - An Old Cornish Railway Viaduct,
Trenance near St. Austell
Series 1 postcard back
Series 2
October 1904 saw the publication of Series 2, another 25 cards printed by Raphael Tuck and Sons. These sepia collotype cards again bore the Tuck company device (an easel and palette) in the space for the stamp and now also carried a small version of it on the front. All cards in this series had "Series 2." printed in the top left corner of the address side and the full set of 25 cost 1/- (one shilling).
26 - Pittville Lake, Cheltenham. Great Western Railway
27 - Oxford, Great Western Railway
28 - Magdalen Tower, Oxford. Great Western Railway
29 - On the Way to Mumbles Head from Swansea
30 - Warwick Castle
Great Western Railway
31 - Old Mill, Guy’s Cliff near Warwick
Great Western Railway
32 - Tree used as Booking Office, Moreton-on-Lugg
Great Western Railway
33 - Pandy Mill near Dolgelley
Great Western Railway
34 - The Lake at Bala. Great Western Railway
35 - Shrewsbury. Great Western Railway
36 - Exterior Paddington (G.W.R.) Station 1838
37 - Interior Paddington (G.W.R.) Station 1858
38 - Slough (G.W.R.) Station 1845
39 - Quadrangle, Eton College
Windsor & Eton (G.W.R.) Station
40 - Playing Fields, Eton
Windsor & Eton (G.W.R.) Station
41 - On the way to Beaconsfield by G.W.R. Motor Car
42 - Oak Growing Out of a Beech
Burnham Beeches by G.W.R. Motor Car from Slough
43 - Broad Gauge Engine (G.W.R.) "Lord of the Isles"
44 - Latest Type Passenger Engine (G.W.R.) "Albion"
45 - Compound Engine "La France" constructed in France
for the Great Western Railway
46 - Swindon (G.W.R.) in 1847
47 - Bath City.
Great Western Railway
48 - Great Western Railway.
Map of The Cornish Riviera
49 - Penzance (G.W.R.) Station and Harbour
50 - The Gorge near Cheddar
Great Western Railway
Series 2 postcard back
Series 3
A series of twelve miniature lithograph posters was published in March 1905 and were sold as a set of 12 for 6d (six pence). These were produced by Messrs. Andrew Reid & Co. of Newcastle-on-Tyne and carried the words G.W. Series No. 3 and Pictorial Poster Fac-simile. on the picture side. These cards were also used as correspondence cards with standard wording overprinted on the address side.
In its April edition of 1905 the Great Western Railway Magazine printed a review of these cards saying 'A decided note of novelty has been struck in selecting the subject for the third series of picture postcards. This is the reproduction in miniature of some of the most attractive pictorial posters. Designed by capable artists, many of the posters have already been much admired by the public, and their charm is none the less in the form in which they are now produced. Well lithographed by Messrs. Andrew Reid & Co. of Newcastle-on-Tyne, these postcards will doubtless be much sought after by collectors.' They were all featured in a colour supplement to the May 1907 edition of the Magazine.
Examples of these cards are extremely rare and seldom come onto the market. Those that do command a hefty price, so it is not surprising that there are only two ('Southern Ireland' and 'Upper Thames') in our collection. We are grateful therefore to the Great Western Trust for allowing us to photograph those examples held in their museum collection. Even they do not possess a full set however. Knowing which posters were missing from their collection enabled us to create close approximations of the originals so that a full set may be represented here.
51 - The Cornish Riviera
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
52 - Southern Ireland
Author's collection
53 - To The Lizard by Rail and Motor
Reproduction
54 - Land's End by Rail and Motor
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
55 - Dining Cars
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
56 - North Wales
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
57 - Xmas excursions
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
58 - Mounts Bay by Night
Reproduction
59 - Week-end Tickets
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
60 - Picturesque Wales
Reproduction
61 - New & Direct Route to Weymouth
Reproduction
62 - To the Upper Thames
Author's collection
Series 3 postcard back
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust
