Post Cards of Oxford, Series B

A set of postcards from a time when travellers brought home small printed views of the places they had visited, keeping a little piece of a city on paper.

This set was produced by Francis Frith & Co., one of Britain’s best-known photographic publishers. Francis Frith was a 19th-century photographer and publisher whose work documented British landscapes, architecture and towns, making photographic views of Britain widely accessible through printed publications.

The postcards in this set capture views of Oxford’s architecture and surroundings in soft sepia tones. Long before travel photographs were stored on phones, postcards served as small souvenirs of places visited — ways of remembering a particular view and sharing it with others.

It is particularly interesting that these views were collected together as a set. Rather than preserving a single image, a series allowed travellers to bring home different glimpses of the same city. In this sense, the collection offers a small visual archive not only of Oxford, but also of the way people once collected and kept memories of their travels.

The gentle tones of the sepia photographs sit beautifully against the texture of the aged paper, making the set equally appealing as a collection of historic views of Oxford or as a piece of vintage paper ephemera.

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𓉞 T.C.C Notes
The postcards and original envelope show natural colour changes to the paper and minor signs of age and handling. Please refer to the detailed photographs for the overall condition.

The set contains 12 postcards, all with completely blank and unused backs. There are no signs of posting or writing, allowing the postcards to retain much of their original appearance and making this an especially charming example of the set.

Measurement
W 13.8cm x H 8.9cm

Material
Paper

Period
Early 20th century

Origin
Printed in England

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We hope this piece will find a new home where its history can be appreciated and its story carried forward.