Rapture Once more he pressed her to his heart, Once more returned and could not part, He kissed her eyes and lips so dear, He held her near, and still more near Posted Clyffe Dorchester 3rd June 1912 Miss Riggs first name was 'Ciss' possibly short for 'Alicia' |
Mine For Ever
The same old story still is told, By lovers young, and lovers old, A story ending with this plea, Oh darling, give yourself to me. Messages written in numeric cipher for privacy The cards are signed by 'Ern' possibly short for Ernest |
Love's Paradise Posted Clyffe Dorchester 16 September 1915 |
The Dorchester Style Posted July 6th 1910 |
Assignation
The card is addressed to Miss Florrie Riggs who was the youngest of 14 children of John & Elizabeth Riggs It was posted by an admirer at Bockhampton Dorchester 27 Nov 1915 |
Assignation
Florence Riggs was born at Woodsford and only 15 years old at this date From the address it would appear that she was probably employed as a domestic servant at the Manor House |
Genealogical Notes:- (1). I have included these cards as they show how far the use of postcards had changed since they were first licenced by the Post Office on 1st September 1894. The first UK postcards had been introduced by the Post office as long ago as 1870 but they had a pre printed stamp and the sender wrote the address on one side and a brief message on the other, there were no pictures at all. The 1st September 1894 was the first time that licences were issued to other publishers and this freedom allowed them to include an image. The cost of production was reduced by requiring a halfpenny stamp to be affixed to the card by the purchaser which of course had to be purchased from the Post Office increasing their revenue. These images after 1899 had become the main reason for purchasing the card and often took up most of the space. As you were not allowed to write anything but the address on the back this led to the message being crammed in around the picture. A good example of this is the postcard of 'Judge Jeffreys Lodgings in High West street which is on the oldphotosuk.com website. It was not until 1902 that the Post Office decreed that the image should be on one side while the back was to be divided with the message on the left and the address and stamp on the right. Britain was the first country to adopt this format. Manufacturers soon produced postcards with a line on the back to indicate the division between message and address. (2). They are also relevant as part of our social history. Queen Victoria only died on 22nd January 1901 and this marked a change in social attitudes. Only 11 years later these cards were being freely sent through the post and by 1915 we were of course well into the horror of the first world war when many of these young men were killed. The war however produced another radical change in postcards:- (3). From 1914 troops purchased silk or lace embroidered cards in France to send home to loved ones. That shown below was sent to my great aunt Minnie Amelia Christopher (1874-1972) in 1915. Like so many others he died that year in the trenches The butterfly is embroidered on lace with its wings the flags of the allied countries Inside the small lace pocket formed by the butterfly was the small card shown below |