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The printing firm of
Gale and Polden were founded in the 1860's and began
publishing postcards in 1901, continuing until the
company closed in 1959. They published a wide range of
post cards and are best known for their post cards
of military subjects. The general history of the company
is described on
Wikipedia and there is a detailed account of
their post card publishing in Picture Postcards
and their Publishers by Anthony Byatt (Golden
Age Postcard Books, 1978).
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Some
Gale & Polden Military Cards |
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The King's Royal
Rifle Corps
ß
The humours of Bisley
The Competitors must lie prone |
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Royal Garrison
Artillery
The Black Watch
(Royal Highlanders)
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The company's earliest
comic postcards appeared in 1904 and the following artists were
involved. |
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I was detained
Signed F? Cock
Wellington Series
1904 |
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Sale or exchange.
Gentleman having no further use for an
extravagent wife will sell or exchange for
anything useful |
Scouting
Signed Ted S
Wellington Series
13 September 1905
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I 'll wait for you
Signed F? Cock
Wellington Series
1907 |
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Travelling Backwards by Chas
Crombie |
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This card by Charles Crombie,
is one of a popular set, copyright Perrier, which
was widely posted in 1907 as "Motoring
Series by Chas Crombie" or "Reliable Series"
or with the publisher names The Philco
Publishing Co or
Gale & Polden. This
suggests that the company was buying in
other comic cards, and not just those by "F
S".
At the same time Charles
Crombie was producing cards for
Valentines
for sale in both the UK and the USA, as the
following examples show. |
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The husband and how to train them
Valentine Series
January 1906 |
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The husband and how to train them
Valentine series -
Souvenir
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[Golf series] Rule XVII
Bee Logo back - USA
March 1908 |
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In 1906 a number
of series of "in-house" comic cards drawn by
G M Payne started to appear, some of which
(not shown here) related to the military
interests of the company.
ß Father's Dilema at Ramsgate
Dont's for Husbands
à 7 July 1907
14 October 1908 |
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Don'ts for Wives
by G M Payne
[Nelson Series 23 December 1907] |
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Aids to Scouting
by G M Payne |
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Before our Time by G M Payne |
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Gilbert Morris (Bertie) Payne was born in
Cardiff in 1879 and moved to London in 1901
where he was employed by Amalgamated Press -
his work (published in several Newspapers of
the day) became extra-ordinarily successful
and popular as a result of which he was
commissioned by publishers Gale & Polden Ltd
to produce various Series of Comic Postcards
reflecting aspects of Edwardian Social
Behaviour or based upon life in the Royal
Navy and British Army between the Boer and
First World Wars. He died in 1947. |
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Dont's for Sweethearts
(unsigned)
1907
[also with O. Flammger, Post Card
Publisher, London E C] |
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Dont's for Sweethearts
(unsigned)
Nelson Series - posted 30 August 1906
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Dont's for Sweethearts
by G M Payne
Nelson Series - posted 5 March 1907 |
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Cards by "Fred Stone" |
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Fred Stone
appear to have previously produced cards for
Henry Moss & Co
but in 1905/6/7 produced cards for Gale and Polden in
their Nelson and Wellington series, the backs
showing the appropriate logo. He sometimes
simply signed his cards "F S." |
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Other known Nursery Rhyme, etc, titles:
Where are you going to my little maid
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
Froggy would a wooing go
He won't be happy till he gets it |
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Mary
had a little lamb
Wellington Series - October 1905 |
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Little Jack Horner, Sat in a corner
Wellington Series - January 1905
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The
smile that won't come off
Wellington
series |
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Alas My poor brother
Signed "F S"
The Nelson Series
[also Wellington Series] 12 September 1906 |
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A Fool and his money is soon Parted
Signed "F S"
The Nelson Series |
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It is ill to awaken Sleeping dogs
Signed "F Stone"
The Nelson Series |
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.jpg) "F S"
also published many
sets of cards starting in 1906. Most of these sets
had identical backs (Early
Saxony) with the name of a publisher added
to the back (left hand margin). Some card appeared
with several different publisher versions. The
commonest publisher named was the
London View
Co. Ltd. - who may have employed "F S."
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Examples of cards from the following sets are known
"published" by Gale & Polden.
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