Vintage Postcard Archive 1905 - 1983 - Librarian's Correspondence - 40 Cards Worldwide

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A large single-recipient postcard archive spanning nearly eighty years, addressed almost entirely to one remarkable woman: Miss Dorothy Moore MBE, Librarian of Westfield College, University of London, from 1941 to 1975 — a career confirmed via the university's own published Fellows record. This isn't a guess at provenance; it's traceable, documented history.

Her postbag came from everywhere. The correspondence follows her from an early family home in Bangor and Belfast, Co. Down, through an early London address at 1a Fortune Green Road, to Westfield College in Hampstead — with cards arriving from friends, colleagues and travelling companions across France (Strasbourg, Paris, Chamonix/Mont Blanc), Italy (Rome, the Vatican, Stresa), Switzerland (Zermatt), Austria (Innsbruck), Spain and the Canary Islands (Las Palmas), the Channel Islands (Guernsey), Canada (Toronto, postmarked 1959), and a striking group of early-1900s South African real photo postcards from King William's Town — Maclean Square, the Town Hall, and two different views of the Maden Reservoir — plus a general view of Ladysmith, Natal, a town forever linked to the 1899–1900 Boer War siege.

The undisputed highlight: an official Royal Shakespeare Company souvenir postcard, "Paul Hardwick as Bottom and Judi Dench as Titania, Stratford-upon-Avon 1962" — carrying a handwritten note signed "Trevor Griffiths." Could this be the celebrated British dramatist behind Comedians, Bill Brand, and the screenplay for Reds? Unverified, but a genuinely tantalising thread for the right buyer to pull on.

Two more leads in the same vein: a card addressed to "Mrs Marie Ney," quite possibly the stage and screen actress of Jamaica Inn and The Lavender Hill Mob, and one signed "Bella Brillouin" — a name shared with the dedicatee of a 1932 Charles Camoin portrait sold at Christie's. Neither confirmed, but exactly the kind of trail that rewards a patient collector. Rounding out the lot: a 1921 card to a "Cedric H. Eberley" in London, one card in a script not yet identified, and one card addressed to a different family entirely (the Muldrew household, Markethill, Co. Armagh) that has no connection to Dorothy Moore but is included as part of this physical archive.

A genuinely rich piece of social history: real, confirmed provenance at its core, with several unverified but well-evidenced leads into theatrical and literary circles for a buyer who wants to dig further.

Mostly real photo and printed postcards, used and unused, spanning the early 1900s to the 1980s. General used vintage condition throughout — please study all photographs carefully as they form part of the description.

DETAILS

• Quantity: 40 postcards
• Date range: c.1905–1983
• Core recipient: Miss Dorothy Moore MBE, Librarian, Westfield College, University of London (1941–75) — confirmed
• Origin: UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Channel Islands, Spain, Canada, South Africa
• Highlight: RSC souvenir postcard, Judi Dench and Paul Hardwick, Stratford-upon-Avon 1962, handwritten note signed "Trevor Griffiths" (unverified identity)
• Also includes cards addressed to "Mrs Marie Ney" and "Cedric H. Eberley" (unverified identities), one signed "Bella Brillouin," one in an unidentified script, and one addressed to a different family (Muldrew household, Co. Armagh) unrelated to Dorothy Moore
• Condition: general used vintage condition, mixed — see photographs

Sold as one lot only. Collection preferred, or postage at buyer's expense, packed flat and protected.

Photographs form part of the description.

See photographs for full list of postcards in the collection.

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