Publisher · UK

Raphael Tuck & Sons

London (with a New York office from 1900) · founded 1866; postcards from 1894, into the 1960s

One of the most famous names of the Golden Age: a London firm founded by Raphael Tuck and his wife Ernestine in 1866, selling pictures and frames before moving into postcards, and opening a New York office in 1900 to reach the US market.

It held a Royal Warrant — granted first by Queen Victoria in 1893 — and most cards carry the line ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN. That King-and-Queen wording belongs to the reign of Edward VII (1901–1910), so it is itself a rough date bracket.

American scenes were often photographed for Tuck but the cards were printed in Europe — Saxony, Germany, England — then shipped back for sale. Cards were organised into numbered series.

The front of a Raphael Tuck postcard from the Postcard Origins collection: a view of Vicksburg, Mississippi — A Tuck card of Vicksburg, Mississippi — Series No. 2354. An American view, but printed in Europe to Tuck’s standard and sold through a local Vicksburg agent.Scanned from the Postcard Origins collection

The undivided back of the same card, showing the Raphael Tuck and Sons imprint, Series No. 2354, and the royal-appointment line — The back tells the story: Raphael Tuck & Sons’ Post Card Series No. 2354, the royal-warrant line, and — decisively — an *undivided* back. That format predates the March 1907 divided-back change, so the card was printed before then; it was mailed in December 1907, early stock used up after the rules changed.From the collection

The imprint line reading Raphael Tuck and Sons, Publishers to Their Majesties the King and Queen — The maker’s line and royal warrant that identify a Tuck card at a glance.Scanned from the Postcard Origins collection

Dating this publisher’s cards

The ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN line dates a card to 1901 or later (the Edwardian royal warrant). The strongest clue on an early Tuck, though, is the back format: an undivided back — one side for the address only — belongs to the era before divided backs were allowed in March 1907. Many undivided-back cards were later reprinted with divided backs, so an undivided back marks an early printing. Series numbers exist but there is no simple number-to-year key; date from the back format, the warrant wording, the stamp and the postmark.

Sources: Raphael Tuck & Sons founded 1866, first Royal Warrant 1893, first postcard 1894, US office 1900, cards printed in Europe: brisray.com postcard-publishers reference; AbeBooks (Raphael Tuck & Sons publisher notes); Undivided backs predate the March 1907 divided-back change and many were later reprinted with divided backs: brisray.com; undividedbackpostcard.com. See methodology.

Compiled and edited by Julien, a postcard dealer and collector in California — every card here is one from the collection.

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