Le Blond Ovals on Postcards by Etheridge

Two Le Blond oval images of “Blowing Bubbles” (LB74, CL90) and “Grandma’s Snuff” (LB100, CL 111). Click on the titles to take you to the full items, also available on the site. These postcards were printed in the 1920s by Ernest Etheridge. This attribution can be seen au verso, as well as the postcard markings. Etheridge was Secretary of the second Baxter Society for the whole of its’ existence. He was an antique dealer working from the Queen’s Buildings in Birmingham. Without him it is unlikely that the Society would have lasted so long. He organised two exhibitions (1921/2) in the city and made it the centre of Baxter collecting. His death before the second world war saw the end of the Society, but what is important is his contribution to the Baxter Society and collecting at a time when prices were at their very highest, and collecting was intense. Because of this the works were not within the compass of many, so that is probably the reason he decided to reproduce these postcard Le Blond images. He printed the full set of 32 ovals as they were extremely popular. The card has a lined pattern on it and the titles of the images are created by blanking that pattern and can be seen in the pictures. Both are in their original frames, and I have removed the cards to clean the glass. Not only are they very pretty pictures, framed simply and classically, but they are also a very interesting piece of history. It would be an excellent achievement to find the complete set.