For an explanation of the Twiddly Bits series, see Aberdovey Twiddly Bits #1
Aberdovey Twiddly Bits #6
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Category Archives: Aberdovey
Vintage Postcards #28: Happy Valentine’s Day!
This lusciously coloured postcard, which I have bought right at the end of my Vintage Postcard phase, is an unexpected treasure. When eBay presented it to me as a possibility following previous Aberdovey-themed postcard purchases, I thought it was such fun, but I hadn’t realized that it contained a secret surprise – a fold-out section consisting of twelve miniature black and white photographs on a paper strip, hidden underneath the flap at the base of the rose.
The card was posted in July 1956. Apparently the stamp fixed to the card was not sufficient, and a “postage due” stamp and mark have been added. The message is remarkably prosaic, given the romantic theme of the card.
It was produced by James Valentine and Sons, in their “Mail Novelty” range.
A snowy drive from Aberdovey to Chester yesterday
I checked the weather forecast yesterday, and it said absolutely nothing, zero, zip, nada, about snow. But on drawing into Bala, a slightly blustery day turned into a minor blizzard and it didn’t let up until I was passing Wrexham. I do the round trip from Aberdovey to Chester and back again quite frequently, and the weather is rarely as predicted, but often radically interesting in a rather challenging way!
Aberdovey Twiddly Bits #5
Vintage Postcards #27: Aberdovey from the Air
These postcard images speak for themselves. Both were unsent. Lovely Sierd Jan Tuinstra, who is an absolute fount of knowledge about Aberdovey, has provided the following information, with my sincere thanks:
As to their date, they were both taken on the same day during the same flight. Probably sometime in the 1920’s . They pop up on eBay every now and then, and I have a slightly different copy of the top card a few years back, which was posted in 1928. There is a third view from the same flight.
Commercial air photography didn’t exist prior to 1919. But after the war, ex RAF reconnaissance officers started the air photographing business using their hard won knowledge and experience.
I instantly noticed the railway wagons in the three postcards. Two of them can be readily recognized as Great Western wagons, thereby dating the view to after 1923. In every one of the postcards their position and that of the other wagons is exactly the same, meaning that all three views must have been taken on the same day.
Aberdovey Twiddly Bits #4
Vintage Postcards #26 Cadair Idris
Cadair Idris, the Chair of Idris, the local giant, is a dominant feature of the area. I’ve walked to the summit a number of times on the Minffordd Path, but that was many years ago and I’ve no idea where those photographs are now. When spring arrives it will certainly be time to do it again. The first photograph (Valentine’s AG105), which is unused, superbly captures the solid mass of Cadair Idris, its massive presence. The sharp outcrop in the foreground is both a great piece of photographic composition and a reminder of the enormous geological forces that lifted up the Welsh hill ranges. Below it, a well-used track carves a route well into the distance.
Painting of Pen y Gader, the summit of Cadair Idris, by Thomas Compton 1812-1818 (lithographer Daniel Havell). Source: Wikipedia, via the National Library of Wales
Cadair Idris was a popular destination from at least the late 1700s, when tourists were first attracted to Llyn Cau, the glacial cwym lake. Llyn Cau has attracted tourists ever since, and it became a popular destination throughout the 19th Century. Richard Wilson painted Llyn Cau in the late 1700s, and early 19th Century artists continued to produce various interpretations of Cadair Idris, including Edward Pugh (1816), John Skinner Prout (1830), Samuel Jackson (1833) and Sidney Richard Percy (1874). A painting by Compton is shown here on the left, and some other examples can be seen on the Campaign for National Parks website. A few brave souls reached the summit, like Thomas Compton who painted it in the early 19th Century. At 2927 feet the summit and highest point of of Cadair Idris is called Pen Y Caer.
What is remarkable about the summit postcard to the right is that the women reached the summit in those long skirts! What a nightmare, even if they took one of the easier routes. All were sensibly armed with sticks, but their footwear is hidden from sight. They look as though they are heading out for a shoot. That photograph (Valentine’s 32025), was postmarked1918. The message on the back, sent to Derby, says that the writer hopes to climb it one night! The mind boggles, quite frankly.
Aberdovey Twiddly Bits #3
Vintage Postcards #25: Two-masted schooners at Aberdovey wharf
Two lovely postcards showing sailing vessels at Aberdovey, moored against the wharf. I have no information about either. The names of the vessels are not visible and there is no information on the postcards themselves, not even a postcard manufacturer name. As to a date, the postcards post-date the building of the wharf and jetty in 1885 and predate the conversion of the Pen Y Bryn chapel into a school inn 1894.
In spite of the lack of additional information, I love them. They are incredibly evocative of 19th Century and early 20th Century Aberdovey, when the village was an important trans-shipping port for for exports and imports. The symbiotic relationship between Welsh sailing ships and the growing network of railway lines, the juxtaposition of old and new, was all about using the best possible solutions for the growth of trade and communication both within Britain and across the Atlantic.
Both postcards were unused, and apart from the fact that they were printed in Saxony, there are no further details.
Aberdovey Londoner 
