The charity on a postcard

Within the Together Trust’s photograph collection is a small section from the 1920s and 1930s, which are made up of postcards of the various services provided by the charity. 

‘The Children’s Garden Village “Belmont”, Cheadle, Cheshire’

The earliest known postcard was said to have been sent in 1840. Postcards had become popular at the turn of the twentieth century for sending short messages between friends and family. As the introduction of the railway made travel quicker and more affordable, day trips to the seaside increased and alongside it the souvenir industry and the postcard. 

‘Boys at the Manchester Boys’ Refuge Camp, Southport’

One of the services which contained the most postcards in our collection is the Summer Camp, which was located in Birkdale. Here a series remains showing the boys playing on the beach, camping out in tents and partaking in activities. Other postcards also relied heavily on fundraising events such as the bazaars. 

Back of a postcard advertising the charity

So the question is why were postcards created with images of a children’s charity on? Were the images commissioned by the charity itself in order to promote the work it did? Perhaps it was a new form of advertising running on from the photographs of old that we’ve mentioned in previous blogs. Postcards at this time were often created to advertise products in a quick and cost efficient way. It is unlikely that the postcards made much money for the charity from sales alone but its ability to advertise its work across the country and beyond was invaluable.