I started, last month, commenting on the snow starting to fall - not knowing how much was to come. There’s something of a gritting issue in Burnley & Pendle as the gritters are controlled ‘centrally’ from Preston - 30 miles away - I.e. not on the edge of the Pennines. By the time snow started to stick in Preston, we were inundated and it turned into a snow plough job, to reach outlying villages, but a friend working in Nelson centre saw something to laugh at. When the gritter finally came through, it was closely followed by the road sweeping van - you couldn’t make it up!

I’m often contacted by people with a collection which ‘must be Victorian because it came from my great, great …..’ Sadly, I frequently have to disappoint them about the age early on because the first few pages are of WWI Bamforth song cards, war ruins etc. Many people started to save postcards at this time because any memento from loved ones at the front was so precious. However that’s not necessarily bad news. Although it might be exciting to find cards as old as Victorian (i.e. pre-1901 when she died), there isn’t a sliding scale of value according to age. There are ‘good’ cards from the 50s and 60s, and there are common cards of little value from pre-1910. It takes time, and looking through thousands of postcards to get a feel for what is unusual - and whether it’s a subject or area that is keenly sought after - although a couple of determined eBay bidders can push a price well beyond expectations.

A genuine Victorian postcard. The stamp on the back is QV . The postmark is of the squared circle type - and clearly stated Bicester 12 a.m. SP 25 00. Bicester is in Oxfordshire which corresponds to the picture on the front - of Iffley Mill, telling us it was sent at midday on September 25th, 1900. On the front is another postmark - a single ring type, stating Bromley Kent 6.45 p.m. 25th September. Since the card has been sent to Bromley, this is a receiving mark - so the card got there the same day.