The Mystery of the Tolhurst Envelope: Case Closed

Regular readers may remember my blog, ‘The Mystery of the Tolhurst Envelopes’, a beautiful story of communication via illustrated envelopes, which were sent to various members of the Tolhurst family. Since writing about the mystery, we’ve uncovered some exciting new pieces of the story. After the blog was published, we quite quickly received an e-mail from a descendant of Charles Frederick Tolhurst, informing us that she was Vera Tolhurst’s niece, Frederick Charles Tolhurst’s granddaughter, and that she had found the BPMA’s Tolhurst blog when looking up the family surname on Google. We were, obviously, extremely excited and arranged a meeting. When we met Tolhurst’s descendants, Brenda and Sandy, they brought with them a large collection of previously unknown of illustrated envelopes, which were made by Charles Frederick Tolhurst and sent to his son Reginald, their father. Reuniting the illustrated envelopes sent to Reginald with those sent to Vera, one appreciated the scale of the communication and the amount of time and effort put into this correspondence. Years after sending mail art to his children, Charles Frederick Tolhurst sent illustrated envelopes to his grandchild. Themes of warfare are again depicted as the Second World War had by then broken out. The letters which accompany the illustrated envelopes are in the family’s collection, bringing us into direct contact with Charles Frederick Tolhurst’s voice for the first time. One such letter and illustrated envelope was sent on his granddaughter’s first birthday, in September 1939. The letter sends ‘many happy returns’ but hopes for happier birthdays ‘than the present one, because we are at war with Germany and you are away with your Dear Mother from home in consequence of the disturbing times that modern warfare brings. May happier days soon be with us.’ The accompanying illustrated envelope is far more solemn than those Tolhurst usually sent to children and depicts a mile stone engraved with ‘1 MILE’ and a sign post pointing to ‘LIFE’S JOURNEY’.  In May 1940, Tolhurst wrote to his granddaughter again of war, and sent the letter in an envelope which he had illustrated with grey tanks, aeroplanes and parachutes. He wrote “Not a happy looking envelope but in days to come, you will hear of people talking about the war at times they will mention those things on the envelope.” He goes on to say “no doubt when you reach the age of 21 you will consider [the envelopes] interesting.” It seems Tolhurst was hoping to capture his experience of warfare through his artwork, so that his family might remember and make sense of it in the future. This family’s mail art story continues today as Charles Frederick’s granddaughter sends mail art to her friends and family – this is a family tradition of communication and illustration spanning over 100 years. It was wonderful to meet the Tolhurst family, learn more about their story and close the mystery of the Tolhurst envelopes. -Joanna Espin, Curator

Virtual Advent Calendar – 9th December

In the lead-up to Christmas we are showcasing some of the festive items in our collection across our social networks. Behind the door of our virtual advent calendar today is…

A Highland Christmas Box (1923)

Colour illustration from ‘The Tatler’ with subtitle ‘A Study in Temptation’.  Depicts Postman in blue uniform with shako standing by sign post pointing to Glenhaggis in a snowy mountain landscape.  In the Postman’s hand is a wrapped bottle while his dog looks on.

See larger images of all the items in our Virtual Advent Calendar on Flickr.

Virtual Advent Calendar – 5th December

In the lead-up to Christmas we are showcasing some of the festive items in our collection across our social networks. Behind the door of our virtual advent calendar today is…

Christmas in the country – arrival of the postman (1872)

Illustration.

See larger images of all the items in our Virtual Advent Calendar on Flickr.

Post Office: Publicity artwork and designs

by Vanessa Bell, Archivist (Cataloguing)

POST 109 is now available for browsing on our online catalogue. It contains original artwork produced for posters and leaflets, as well as designs produced for a variety of purposes, including greetings telegram forms, logos and logotypes, vehicle livery and postal equipment. Material includes paintings and pencil and ink drawings, as well as photographs, transparencies and annotated final proofs.

Much of the artwork in the series was commissioned by the Public Relations Department, which was first created in 1934, under the first Post Office Public Relations Officer, Stephen Tallents. Right from the conception of the department, it assumed responsibility for commissioning designs for posters, which it considered to be a vital part of Post Office publicity; it did this initially in consultation with a ‘Poster Advisory Group’, but from 1937 it operated in its own right.

Sketch for rural postman: artwork for a poster, by John Nash, 1935

The department approached leading artists for the production of posters of two kinds, known respectively as ‘Prestige’ and ‘Selling’. ‘Prestige’ posters fell into two categories: those specially prepared for distribution to schools and those for display in Crown Post Offices and non-public offices in Post Office buildings, they were intended to be more formal in style, eye catching rather than persuasive. ‘Selling’ posters had a direct ‘selling’ appeal and were intended to persuade the beholder to use a particular service or buy a particular product.

POST 109 includes a number of adopted poster designs, but it also contains examples of commissioned artwork that was rejected. Artworks include an Edward Bawden poster about the Post Office Underground Railway (later known as Mail Rail)  (below), John Nash’s watercolour depicting a rural postman (above left), an oil painting by Edgar Ainsworth showing a night scene at a sorting office (POST 109/507), and George Charlton’s Interior of Travelling Post Office (POST 109/375).

Post Office Tube Railway: artwork for a poster, by Edward Bawden, circa 1935

The collection also includes rejected designs by artists more usually ‘favourites’ of the Public Relations Department, such as Tom Eckersley (POST 109/15) and Jan Lewitt and George Him (POST 109/602-605 and below).

Post much earlier this X-mas: Artwork for a poster, by Jan Lewitt and George Him, 1950

The Public Relations Department was also instrumental in commissioning artists to design forms for the Greetings Telegram Service, which was introduced in 1935 as a means of revitalising the telegraph service.

Greetings telegrams were to be associated with special occasions and as such, designs had to be particularly attractive, with an element of luxury, this was encapsulated in the golden envelope designed to accompany the form.

POST 109 includes many examples of adopted designs; for example, the design produced by Margaret Calkin James for the first ever greetings telegram form, issued in July 1935 (below).

Margaret Calkin James' design for the first ever greetings telegram form, issued in July 1935

It also includes a number of unsuccessful designs, including one produced by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis (below), two by Alan Reynolds Stone (POST 109/649 and POST 109/659) and one by Rex Whistler (POST 109/692); Whistler also produced two other designs for greetings telegram forms that made it into print.

Greetings Telegram artwork by Cliff & Rosemary Ellis, 1937

Other items in POST 109 include artwork for the familiar GPO monogram, produced by Macdonald Gill in 1934, pillar box designs by Tony Gibbs from 1977 and artwork produced by Ben Maile for inclusion in the book: First Post: From penny black to the present day (Quiller Press, 1990).

The Big Draw at the Museum Store

by Laura Dixon, Learning Officer

BPMA will be holding a Big Draw event on Saturday 10 October at the BPMA Museum Store from 10.00am – 4.00pm to fit in with this year’s theme of Colour in the Big Draw.

The Big Draw aims to get everyone drawing – adults and children alike. BPMA is delighted to be working with designer and illustrator Izzy Jaffer, who will be helping visitors create their own detailed colour drawings of objects on display. If you think you can’t draw, Izzy will show you otherwise. She says “…anyone can draw anything by simply breaking down the subject into simple shapes and adding in the detail once the shape and proportion are right.”

Drawing sessions will be drop in from 10.15am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm -3.30pm. All are welcome at this free, day long event, but please book (see details below).

As well as the drawing workshops, this open day will also feature tours of the Store with our Curator, films, worksheets and quizzes and the chance to win special BPMA prizes!

A selection of GPO Film Unit films will be chosen to fit in with the theme of Colour – such as Night Mail 2, an updated version of the classic 1936 Night Mail, made in 1986 in colour with poetry by Blake Morrison.

We will also show some of the pioneering colour films made for the GPO in the 1930s by experimental director and artist Len Lye. One of Lye’s films, A Colour Box (1935), was made without a camera; Lye painted directly onto the celluloid and in doing so created a film which divided audience opinion at the time between adulation and derision.

Other Lye films to be shown include Rainbow Dance (1936), a 5 minute ‘film ballet’, and Trade Tattoo (1937), which uses some leftover footage from other GPO films (such as the first Night Mail) to make a short film about the British working day, whilst also encouraging viewers to Post Early.

The open day offers an exciting opportunity to see many of the BPMA’s collection of objects on display in a working store.

What is a Store?

Visitors should be prepared for something different from a traditional museum when coming to the Store. Because the BPMA does not currently have the space to display all of its larger objects on a permanent basis, they are kept safely in the Store at Debden. There aren’t the usual interpretive panels you would see in a museum, and there may be some items that are undergoing repairs, as well as some new acquisitions.

The BPMA Store contains objects ranging from the desk of Rowland Hill (founder of the Penny Post), to a carriage from Post Office Underground Railway, letter boxes, bicycles, motorcycles and more.

To book your place, please contact info@postalheritage.org.uk or phone 020 7239 2570 and state whether you would like to com in the morning or afternoon.

David Gentleman’s Kew Gardens stamps

On Tuesday Royal Mail released a third set of stamps in the Action for Species series, on Endangered Plants, as well as a miniature sheet commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Kew Gardens (both of which can be seen here). However, this is not the first time Kew Gardens has appeared on stamps.

A commemorative set released in 1990 marked the 150th anniversary of Kew Gardens being adopted as a national botanical garden. The stamps were designed by Paul Leith and showed four pairs of notable trees and buildings in the gardens.

Paul Leith’s Kew Gardens stamps (1990)

The BPMA holds Leith’s original artwork for these stamps as well as a number of unadopted designs by Leith and the other artists who were invited to submit ideas for the set: Jane Human, Siobhan Russell, graphic designer company Silk Pearce and David Gentleman. A retrospective exhibition of stamp design work by David Gentleman is currently on display at the BPMA and includes a number of unadopted designs, but none are from the 1990 Kew Gardens set.

David Gentleman submitted 5 sets of designs and four alternative designs for the Kew Gardens set. Below is a list of these designs accompanied by the artist’s descriptions, and some (low quality) scans of selected artworks.

Set A
4 watercolour paintings, dated 01/11/88
A1 – Spring: Sophora japonica (Pagoda tree) planted 1760.
A2 – Summer: Robinia pseud acacia (false acacia), planted 1762.
A3 – Autumn: Platanus orientalis (Oriental plane), planted c.1762.
A4 – Winter: Quercus hispanica lucombeaua (Lucombe’s oak), planted 1760.

A2 – David Gentleman’s unadopted False Acacia design

Set B
4 watercolour paintings, dated 01/11/88
B1 – Encephelartos longifolia; the oldest glasshouse plant in Kew; with the Palm House to which it will shortly return.
B2 – The Pagoda Tree (sophora japonica), part of the original planting of c.1760 with the Orangery, designed by Sir William Chambers and built in 1761.
B3 – Platanus orientalis (Oriental plane) – original planting of c.1762; with Kew Palace.
B4 – Robina pseudacacia or false acacia, (original planting, c.1762) with the Aroid House, by John Nash; moved to Kew from Buckingham Palace, 1836.

B1 – David Gentleman’s unadopted Encephelartos longifolia design

Set C
4 watercolour paintings, dated 01/11/88
C1 – Encephelartos longifolia; the oldest glasshouse plant in Kew; with the Palm House to which it will shortly return.
C2 – Platanus orientalis (Oriental plane) – original planting of c.1762; with Kew Palace.
C3 – Quercus Lucombeaua (Lucombe’s oak), original planting of the 1760s; with the Avoid House.
C4 – Robina pseudacacia; original planting of c1762; with Orangery, designed by Sir William Chambers and built in 1761.

C2 – David Gentleman’s unadopted Oriental Plane design

Alternates:
C1 (ii) – Encephelartos longifolia; the oldest glasshouse plant in Kew; with the Palm House to which it will shortly return.
C1 (iii) – Encephelartos longifolia; the oldest glasshouse plant in Kew; with the Palm House to which it will shortly return.

C1 (ii) – David Gentleman’s unadopted Encephelartos longifolia design (alternate)

Set D
3 watercolour paintings (D1-3) and 1 illustration (D4), dated 15/03/89
D1 – Spring: Robinia pseudacacia (false acacia). Planted in 1762 as part of the original planting.
D2 – Summer: Quercus hisparica lucombeaua (Oriental Plane). Part of the original 1760s planting. (sic)
D3: Autumn: Plantanus orientalis (Oriental Plane). Part of the original 1760s planting.
D4: Winter: Sophora japonica (Pagoda Tree). Planted c1760 as part of the original planting.

D4 – David Gentleman’s unadopted Pagoda Tree design

Set E
4 illustrations, dated 15/03/89
E1 – Spring: Robina pseudacacia (false acacia). Planted in 1762, as part of the original planting. In the background, the Orangery, designed by Sir William Chambers and built in 1761.
E2 – Summer: Quercus hispanica lucombeaua (Lucombe’s oak). Part of the original planting of in 1760s. In the distance, the Pagoda. (sic)
E3 – Autumn: Plantanus orientalis (Oriental plane). Part of the original 1760s planting. In the background, the Temperate House.
E4 – Winter: Sophora japonica (Pagoda Tree). Planted c1760 as part of the original planting. The Palm House.

E4 – David Gentleman’s unadopted Pagoda Tree design (winter)

Additional designs
There is no artist’s description for these designs; they are described on the reverse as presentation visuals.
1 – Oak Tree (green illustration).
2 – Oak Tree (computer image).

Additional design 2 – David Gentleman’s unadopted Oak Tree design

For more previously unseen stamp artwork by David Gentleman, please see our online exhibition Gentleman on Stamps. Some of the heritage trees which appeared in Gentleman’s designs can be seen on the Kew Gardens website; False Acacia, Lucombe Oak, Oriental Pane, Pagoda Tree.