'F. S.' Publishers

"London View Co. Ltd."

Provisional Company History

 

In the early 1900s the boom in the number of post cards being purchased and used was accompanied by very many companies trying to get on the band wagon, often encouraged by continental printing firms that large print runs worked out a lot cheaper per card. Many of these upstart companies soon failed because they didn't realize that the hardest part of making money was getting the cards into the shops - because of the need for a salesman to go from shop to shop. And once you got your salesman through the door the more different types of card you could sell the better. If you got things badly wrong - and Wrench is the prime large company example - you went out of business and some companies, such as Thridgould, did well selling large packs of assorted surplus (often bankruptcy stock) cards.

 

 The "London View Company" seems to have been a short-lived wholesaler who worked in association with an unnamed Saxony printer. The idea seemed to be that a company wanting to sell a wide variety of types of cards could get ready-made examples with their own company on. The best example relates to the "F S" cards where an artist produced many different sets of comic cards to attempt to compete with the excellent comic cards produced, for example, by Tom Browne for Davidson Bros. All "F S" cards were produced after the company had become the London View Company Limited in the first half of  1906.

 

It seems that the company started in 1905 (earliest posting date recorded 15 March 1905), apparently in Aldergate Street, London, became a limited company in 1906 and in August 1907 the London View Company Ltd failed. This raises a lot of questions - which are currently being researched.

  1. Did those running the company (unfortunately no names yet) switch their alliance to other companies. It is probably not a coincidence that the earliest know examples of the Brighton View Company are dated 1907. The fact that the first cards produced by the East London Publishing Co are dated 1908 is possibly a coincidence, but see It is very Breezy for why it might be relevant.

  2. Assuming "F S" is Fred Spurgin what did he do next? He would have had work in progress which he would want to complete and sell, and he needed a new regular publisher - something he achieved with Inter-Art in 1911 and even more successfully with Art and Humour between 1915 and 1925.

  3. A number of the companies which had been selling "F S" cards continued to sell comic cards. In some cases, such as Vertigen, some of these (unsigned) may be by "F S". In other cases they we selling cards by a new artist in 1908

  4. Who was responsible to the "F S" cards which appeared in the USA in 1907/8 after the London View Company had closed.

  5. Many green backed reprints of "F S" cards (unsigned) appeared between 1908 and 1916. In addition (with similar backs) there are unsigned cards in the "F S"" style and others which are clearly by other artists.

 

"F S" Comic Cards

 

"F S" Comic Cards

The "Early Saxony"  Group

17 sets of 6 cards

plus some extra singles

 
   

 

The "F S Comic" Series

6 sets of 6 cards

 

 

The "LVC Logo" Series

4 sets of 6 cards

 

"Pa's" Holiday Cards by  "F S"

At Brighton

 

At Hastings

 

At Southend on Sea

Other Comic Cards

 

Unsigned Comic Cards

(some may be "F S")

 

 

 

Signed Comic Cards

(not "F S")

 

Hints for Girls  à

G. M. Payne

 

ß Our Navy - Heave Ho

A. E. Hilton

 

Christmas Cards

 

Christmas Cards

for 1905

by London View Co.

 

ß  With Best Wishes

 

A Bright Xmas  à

 
 

for 1906

by London View Co Ltd

 

ß  A Christmas Wait

Signed "F S"

 

Yule-tide Jollity  à

Father buys the goose

Signed "Bob"

 

View Post Cards  London

 

 

   

View Post Cards - Key Towns with 1905 cards

Brighton

The Palace Pier

LVC No 5 - 10 September 1905

 

Pa's Holiday at Brighton

by F S

 

The Aquarium, Brighton

Pub: H G Harwood

Hastings

Lovers Seat, Hastings  

LVC No 18

 

Pa's Holiday at Hastings

by F S

 

East Hill Lifts, Hastings   No 5

Pub: Mossman & Co Hastings

Southend on Sea

Pleasure Gardens  -  LVC

No 35

 

Pa's Holiday at Southend

by F S

Greetings from Southend on Sea

 

Watford

watford-cassio-gateway-08

The Park Gates (Glitter Card)

 

St Albans Road, Watford

St Albans Road

 

watford-multi-six-views-arms

Greetings from Watford

Watford, Herts - many different views - earliest posted 1906

Cards also appear as "Watford Series" for J J Southwood, photographer,Watford

 

Multiview

by Co Ltd - using earlier pictures

River Thames West of London (1905)

Caversham Lock, Reading

 

Marlow

 

Other Views

Ascot. Entrance to Grandstand

 

The Docks, Boston

 

Anerley Parish Church, Croydon

Dover Castle

 

The Lift, Folkstone

 

Cottage Hospital, Leatherhead

The Clock Tower, Margate

 

Larch Avenue, Sunninghill

 

Warwick Castle

Multiviews

Basingstoke

 

Leatherhead

 

Leamington

Other Types of Post Card

It was on the bridge at midnight

 

Unsigned Photo Comic Cards including the

"Life Modes Series"

 

Brotherly Love 

 

Nudes

 

Do buy my Pretty Flowers.

13 January 1907

 

Children including the "Platino Series"

 

Platino

Series 503

18 June 1907


Painting by Spurlick

London View Co     Series No 229 

 

Cats

 

 

Two Little Orphans

London View Co Ltd


And there's nothing half as sweet in life, as loves young dream.

Moore

Series 526

 

Embossed Cards

 

 

He was my friend, faithful and just to me

Shakespeare

|Series 526

 


Floral cards

with glitter

 

Forget Me Not

The London View Co. Ltd.

Copyright

21 December 1905


It is finished

Michel Angelo

 

 

"Old Master Series"

and other Art Cards

 

 

The Coldstreamers

The Coldstream Guards