A Passion for Postcards: The Postcard Collection of Miss Vera Bell
Our current library display draws from the postcard collection of Miss Vera Bell, a young Sydney woman, and provides a snapshot of an era: the golden age of postcards.
The first decade of the 20th century was the golden age of the postcard. Mass-produced and widely available, postcards became a quick and inexpensive means of informal communication between family members and friends – the ‘text message’ of their time. With postal deliveries made up to three times daily, a postcard could be sent in the morning to arrange plans for later the same day.
Postcards featured an almost infinite array of subjects: celebrities, holiday destinations, transport innovations, significant events, even small regional towns. With so many postcards in circulation, collecting became a popular and affordable hobby. Postcard albums were produced by a variety of retailers, and friends competed to acquire the largest collection.
Today, these collections present us with a snapshot of an era, as well as a window into the personal lives of those whose correspondence they capture – their interests, tastes, travels, and sense of humour. The postcards on display are a selection from the more than 1,000 collected by Miss Vera Bell of Marrickville when she was in her teens and early twenties.
View more from the Bell family papers.
Caroline Simpson Library
The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000- Cafe
- Wheelchair accessible
16 July – 25 October 2024
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The fountains of Machattie Park, Bathurst
Several of the postcards featured in our current library display depict Machattie Park in Bathurst. Postcard collector Vera Bell lived in Bathurst between 1905 and 1908 while her father, John, acted as the police superintendent
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Bicycle race
'Bicycle race' is just one of many postcards from the collection of Vera Bell as part of the Bell family papers, now housed in the Caroline Simpson Library
![Back of postcard with short text address to Miss Vera Bell](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/staging/f3cb5c5c9f9f46c02803dc43a6dc9a86b72ae01f-2000x1253.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
Tea and scandal
‘Come to afternoon “Tea and Scandal” tomorrow’ is the wonderfully enticing offer made via postcard by Viley and Olive, young friends of Vera Bell