Antique & Vintage Postcards

Beneath a rumpled Irish caubeen hat lying in the road — a clay pipe tucked in the band, a shamrock sprig pinned to the brim — a hidden concertina strip waits to be discovered, promising "by way of news you'll find my Views under the old Caubeen." This charming Edwardian novelty card offers Greetings from Portrush via the clichéd but endearing iconography of Irishness — the battered hat, the shillelagh, a retreating green-coated figure disappearing up a country lane — while the pull-out delivers earnest black-and-white photographic views of Main Street (horse and cart visible outside the Café), Kerr Street from the Harbour with a sailing yacht, and further coastal scenes. The card is unused and unaddressed, preserving the novelty in pristine pull-out condition. Published by The Photochrom Co. as a companion piece in the same Celesque novelty series as the mermaid card above, this example carries a slightly different format note on the verso ("With Sender's Name at foot only ½d postage"), suggesting it predates the mermaid card marginally or is a parallel print run variant.