A Miscellany of Messages for Marjorie

            I am many things, including a deltiologist (a collector of postcards).  I specialise in collecting faerie tale themed postcards from before the Second World War and now have a sizable collection going into the several thousands.  Usually, my purchases come from large auction houses or online businesses, but occasionally I am fortunate enough to acquire postcards from direct descendants of the original recipients, including the nephew of Miss Margorie Chambers, John Shackles, owner of Nonnykettle Books in Redditch.

In 2006, I bought a Cinderella postcard I had long been searching for from John through Nonnykettle Books, unaware that it was his maiden Aunt Marjorie’s postcard.  As Nonnykettle was a small business, I decided to ask John if he knew anything about the recipient.  When I received it, enclosed was a small note letting me know that the postcard (which you can read at the bottom of the photo) was sent to Marjorie Chambers (aged sixteen in the studio portrait in the centre of the photo) when she was seven a half years old.  The Lucy also mentioned in the postcard is John’s late mother, the younger sister of Marjorie.  Rose Cottage (pictured in the photo to the right of Marjorie) in the Worcestershire village of Rowney Green, where Marjorie and Lucy lived with their parents, was where John’s father was born, and also where he married Lucy.  The cottage still stands to this day.

Several months later I bought the Little Mermaid postcard towards the top of the photograph from a specialist postcard dealer in Cincinnati with whom I had a long-standing friendship.  Imagine my surprise upon its arrival to find that it was addressed to the very same Marjorie Chambers of Rose Cottage, from a friend named Eileen and her mother.  I immediately contacted John and asked what he knew about Eileen.  We corresponded for a while, but John had no luck tracing the mysterious Eileen.  One day a large parcel arrived from John.  To my delight, enclosed was a letter from John, several photos and about a dozen cards and postcards all addressed to Marjorie from her parents, family and friends.  When Marjorie died in 1995, John was going through her personal effects and found her collection of cards and postcards that were given to her by her parents, family, and friends, that she had kept over the years.  It ran into the hundreds, as she had received one hundred cards alone on her twenty-first birthday in 1935!  Most of her family and her friends usually sent her one birthday card and one Valentine’s card for her every year.  John had slowly been selling items from her collection off piecemeal through his shop, although not the Little Mermaid card from my seller in Cincinnati which John had never seen, so it remains as much of a mystery as to how it got there as the elusive Eileen is.  John had sent me a selection of Marjorie’s cards, details about who sent them, and some photos of her over the years, so I would know what she looked like and perhaps get a sense of her.  

The woven card at the top of the photo came from Marjorie and Lucy’s favourite uncle, Uncle Tom, who died in Birmingham during the Second World War.  The twenty-first birthday postcard in the bottom left-hand corner of the photo came from Lucy.  The Valentine’s Day card in the bottom left-hand of the photo came from Marjorie’s best friend Olive and her husband, Alfred.  The blue swallows birthday card on the left-hand side of the photo came from her friend Nellie.  The twenty-first birthday postcard in the top left-hand corner of the photo came from Anne and George.  The birthday postcard in the top right-hand corner of the photo came from Marjorie’s grandfather and the Valentine’s Day card to the middle right of the photo came from her parents. 

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 26th of February is “postcards and greeting cards”.  Being a deltiologist (a collector of postcards), this was an easy theme for me, and it was only when I picked out the Cinderella postcard to photograph amongst others that I was suddenly reminded of the treasure trove of Marjorie Chambers’ greeting cards and postcards that I had.  I thought this would be a nice tribute to her memory.  I hope that my arrangement of some of her cards and postcards pleases you and makes you smile.        

Dedicated to the memory of Miss Marjorie Chambers 1914 – 1995.

Taken on: February 19, 2022

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.025 sec (1/40)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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