Postcards became popular at the turn of the 20th century when Royal Mail gave publishers permission to sell them, but the first postal stationery postcards (plain postcards with a printed stamp on them) date from the late 1860s and Britain's first picture postcards were published in 1893.

By the 1900s, they were used for a range of communications – the equivalent of today’s social networking. One hundred and fifty years on, they are still a familiar sight in shops in holiday destinations even if fewer are now sent. Examples from the 19th Century and early 20th Century, regardless of subject, have become highly collectable, although there are cards of value to be found from every decade.

A personal passion of specialist valuer Ken Payne, his reputation for attracting high-quality postcard collections and rarities is well deserved. A single-owner collection of 30,000 postcards from the 19th and early 20th century sold for £25,000 in our postcard auction and set a new record for our auction house. Ken will endeavour to look through any collection to uncover hidden gems.

Given the saleroom’s proximity to the Lake District, the home of Beatrix Potter, it’s no surprise that we often sell postcards and letters written by the famous author of children’s books. A single letter made £1,500 at one of our sales and a collection of related items made £2,200.

An extension of Ken’s postcards expertise is ephemera which includes anything paper related from posters, programmes and newspapers to comics and technical drawings.

Ken is keen to encourage people to bring in their collections of postcards and ephemera for him to value, we offer free no-obligation advice. Should you wish to go ahead and put them up for auction, our online sales platform is sure to reach buyers around the world.