Wild Postcards

Cameron tartan and shield, oak badge, and Achnacarry Castle

“A clan famous for its martial exploits. Always loyal to the Stuart cause, and played an important part in the ‘45. The Scottish regiment of Cameron highlanders was originally raised from this clan. Their badge is ‘Oak,’ and the head of the clan (is) Cameron of Lochiel, whose residence, Achnacarry Castle, is shown in the small picture. The famous ‘Pibroch of Donald Dhu’ is their battle march.” My wife is descended from this clan.

This Tuck’s Post Card, printed in England, is an “oilette”, a term used by them, according to The Encyclopedia of Antique Postcards, “to refer to a particular style of postcard production. The oilettes often looked like oil paintings, with noticeable brush stokes.”

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View on the River Kelvin

This is an early photochrome postcard from the Philco Publishing Company of London. For some reason unknown to me, the image is surrounded by the tartan of the MacIntosh clan.

What’s interesting to me is that the back of the card has been modified by hand in a very unusual way:

Detail from postcard back (image altered to emphasize modification)

If you look carefully, you can see that there was some text after the phrase “Printed at our works” which has been scratched out; it appears to have been done with the tip of a pin. My theory is that the card used to say “Printed at our works in Germany.” Like many postcard companies, Philco had several cards made in Germany and, if this card was being sold during wartime, the legend “Made in Germany” would no doubt have an impact on sales.