work

Galleries and Reading Room

Café

Shop

Library

Our galleries are quietest on weekdays and weekend mornings. At busy times, particularly on Saturdays, you may need to queue for our temporary exhibitions.

We’re undertaking some research with website visitors to learn more about how people find access-related information provided by museums. This survey shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time!

Help us organize our website content.

Romantic fantasy and comic postcards

The James Gardiner Collection.

James Gardiner Collection: romantic fantasy and comic postcards, and photographs on gender and masculinity.

James Gardiner Collection: Romantic fantasy and comic postcards, and photographs on gender and masculinity.

A man admiring a bowl of flowers. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A man offering Easter eggs and flowers. Photographic postcard, ca. 1920.

A woman gazing at a man who holds her arm; representing a romantic new year. Coloured photographic postcard, 193-.

A man holding three fish and some flowers; the fish representing "poissons d'avril" (April fool's jokes). Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A man holding the shape of a heart decorated with roses and holly. Coloured photographic postcard, 193-.

A man holding a bunch of flowers; representing good wishes. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A man holding an Easter egg and flowers. Coloured photographic postcard, 192- (?).

A man holding pink and white flowers. Coloured photographic postcard, 192- (?).

A man saying through the smoke of his cigarette "Think of me". Photographic postcard, 192- (?).

A man saying through the smoke of his cigarette "I love you". Photographic postcard, 192- (?).

A man holding flowers and a horseshoe; representing a romantic new year. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A young woman holding roses sits lovingly next to a young man playing the violin. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A young man holding roses, engaging the viewer. Colour photographic postcard, 1928.

A young man holding roses, engaging the viewer. Colour photographic postcard, 192-.

A man holding flowers and a cane. Coloured photographic postcard, 1925.

A young man holding roses. Colour photographic postcard, 192-.

A young man holding a flower, letter and a cigarette, marking the feast of Saint Eligius. Colour photographic postcard, 1928.

A young man seated holding flowers and a note. Colour photographic postcard, 192-.

A young man holding flowers and smiling; with Happy Easter wishes in gold. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A young man, in profile, reading a note. Photographic postcard, 1927.

A person holding large flowers, glancing to the side.

A young man holding a decorated model of a fish representing "poissons d'avril" (April fool's jokes). Colour photographic postcard, 192-.

A young man holding flowers. Coloured photographic postcard, 1924.

A man holding Easter eggs and flowers. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A man holding a fish and some flowers in a basket.

A young man holding flowers. Photographic postcard, 1937.

A young man holding flowers, his head resting in his hand; with "Bonne Fête" in gold. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A man holding a clarinet to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day. Photographic postcard, 192-.

A man holding an envelope above flowers; representing a romantic new year. Coloured photographic postcard, ca. 1910.

A man holding a clarinet, celebrating Saint Cecilia's Day. Coloured photographic postcard, 1934.

A man holding a trumpet, with flowers, celebrating Saint Cecilia's day. Coloured photographic postcard, 1931.

A young man holding a note. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A man holding an accordion with flowers, celebrating Saint Cecilia's Day. Colour photographic postcard, 192-.

Three men in drag pulling silly expressions. Photographic postcard, 1906.

Little boys sitting on a bench. Photographic postcard, 19--.

"Bill's Gay Nineties" cafe, New York City; including various scenes. Colour process print, 195-.

"The Gay Sparks" in conversation. Photographic postcard, 1929.

A portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham by C. Janssen. Colour process print, 19--.

A portrait of Prince William of Orange by Antonis Mor. Colour process print, 19--.

A portrait of Charles I in needlework miniature form. Colour process print, 19--.

A portrait of Viscount Castlereagh. Process print, 19--, after Sir Thomas Lawrence.

A portrait of Michelangelo. Photographic postcard, 19--.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Photographic postcard, 1906.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Neuschwanstein castle. Colour process print, 190-.

H.R.H Prince Henry, wearing a top hat. Photographic postcard, 190-.

Clouds Hill, the residence of T.E. Lawrence. Photographic postcard, 19--.

Fred Barnes and his father playing cards. Photographic postcard, 19--.

Fred Barnes, inset in various poses, over a Union Jack flag. Photographic postcard, ca. 1912.

An actor in Elizabethan costume in conversation with two actresses. Photographic postcard by J.W. Debenham, 193-.

Fred Barnes. Photographic postcard, 19--.

Fred Barnes. Photographic postcard by Fielding, 19--.

Charles Lorrain. Photographic postcard, 19--.

Leslie French. Photograph, 192-.

William Fox. Photographic postcard, 193-.

Harry Pilcer. Photographic postcard, 19--.

Shaun Glenville. Photographic postcard, 1914.

Lilly Elsie and Ivor Novello in "The truth game". Photographic postcard, 19--.

Frank Vosper. Photographic postcard, 1927.

Bobbie Andrews. Photographic postcard by C. Harris, ca. 1920.

Master Philip Tonge.

Jeremy Spenser. Colour photographic postcard, 195-.

Robert Flemyng. Photograph, 195-.

Mischa de la Motte. Photographic postcard, 1937.

Jimmy Edwards. Photographic postcard, 195-.

Douglas Byng. Photograph, 1962.

Gilbert Harding. Photograph, 195-.

Adolf Wohlbrück (Anton Walbrook), in profile, wearing a trilby. Photographic postcard by Bender & Jacobi, 193-.

Billy Milton. Photographic postcard, 193-.

Adolf Wohlbrück (Anton Walbrook). Photographic postcard by Bender & Jacobi, 193-.

Frankie Howerd. Photograph, 195-.

Ralph Richardson. Photographic postcard, 193-.

Colin Clive. Photographic postcard, 193-.

Horst Buchholz. Photographic postcard, 195-.

Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor, as bride and groom. Coloured photographic postcard by Fox, 193-.

John Gielgud. Photographic postcard by D. Wilding, 193-.

Rudolph Valentino and Natacha Rambova. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Anton Dolin as Satan. Photographic postcard, 193-.

The Bay City Rollers. Photographic postcard, 197-.

Alexis Rassine. Photograph by G. Anthony, 194-.

Rudolf Nureyev as Hamlet. Photograph by Reg Wilson, 196-.

Serge Lifar. Photographic postcard by C. Harcourt, ca. 1930.

Peter Pears. Process print, 195-.

Pole Neshdanov (?), posing in profile, wearing a patterned robe. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Vaslav Nijinsky. Process print after Park Street Studios, 19--.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Photographic postcard, 191-.

George Nader. Photographic postcard, 195-.

Rudolph Valentino. Colour photographic postcard, 192-.

Rock Hudson. Photographic postcard, 195-.

Doris Day and Rock Hudson in 'Pillow talk'. Photographic postcard, 196-.

Sal Mineo. Photographic postcard, 195-.

Horst Buchholz. Colour photographic postcard, 19--.

Louis Hayward. Photographic postcard, 196-.

Dirk Bogarde. Photographic postcard, 195-.

Anthony Perkins. Colour process print after Sam Lévin, 196-.

An illustrated maxim on the word "queer". Colour process print after N. Paterson, 195-.

The play "He was born gay": flyer for performance at Queen's theatre in London. Colour process print, 193-.

Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Lord Kitchener. Photographic postcard by Bassano, 1916.

General Gordon. Photographic postcard by Chalkley Gould & Co., 190-.

General Hector MacDonald. Photograph, 190-.

Androgynous fashions of the 1920s. Colour process print, 192--.

George Rossi Ashton drawing a man and a woman with pansies as faces. Photographic postcard, 190-.

The Disney character Goofy as a "gay dog", i.e. a gay man promenading on the sea front. Colour process print, 195-.

A man on a beach wearing smart attire. Colour process print, 192-.

An effeminate footballer insists on wearing feminine sportswear. Colour process print, 194-.

A cross-dressing man in a top hat; representing effeminate fashions for men. Colour process print, ca. 1910.

A man dressed in effeminate fashion. Colour process print, ca. 1910.

A man dressed in an effeminate fashion. Colour process print, ca. 1914.

A man dressed in effeminate fashions, with a dog. Colour process print, 192-.

A man in part-uniform and part drag , with a dog, in war-time. Colour process print after Reg Carter, 194-.

Two men in fashionable dress with linked arms. Coloured process print, 191--.

A man in a white suit smoking by the sea. Colour process print after P.V. Bradshaw, 1908.

A boy enjoying wearing female clothing. Colour process print, ca. 1919.

Two gay men in an art gallery looking at a painting of a female nude. Colour process print after Caport, 195-.

A boy applying face-powder being reproached by a girl. Colour process print after D. McGill, 1935.

A young man called Oscar is asked by his mother whether he wears hairpins (regarded by her as effeminate). Colour process print, ca. 1907.

A salesman in a clothes shop invites a customer to 'walk this way'; the customer finds his way of walking too effeminate.. Colour process print, 194-.

Two men sleeping in the same bed; representing rest. Colour lithograph, 190-.

Men in swimming costumes. Colour process print after A. Massonet, 192-.

A man attempting to rob another man at gunpoint. Colour process print after Mike, 195-.

A bachelor cooking on a gas stove; advertising gas cookers provided by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne & Gateshead Gas Co. Process print, 1905.

A dandy wearing a ring on each hand while smoking a cigar. Colour process print, ca. 1905.

Two gay men leaving a theatre after a play; advertising Swallow raincoats. Process print, 195-.

A man lifting weights exposes himself as his trousers fall down in front of a crowd. Colour process print after Taylor, ca. 1984.

A strongman wearing a white vest and beret is admired by a boy and a girl. Colour process print, 1911.

A skinny man wearing a frilly pink shirt, striped trousers and heels (?), while smoking. Colour process print after Nertz, 196-.

A man in a large dark coloured dress adopting a standing pose in profile. Colour process print, 1910.

Two men wearing dresses in a garden: one is handing the other sticks of chewing gum as an alternative to gossip. Colour process print, 1915.

Two men in bed, one in drag: they have been woken up by the sound of burglars. Colour lithograph, 191-.

Two men dressed in drag having a conversation: one is injured as a result of wife-beating. Colour lithograph, 1908.

A 'gay' dog. Photographic postcard, ca. 1911.

The destruction of Sodom; and the supposed location of Sodom and Gomorrha on the Dead Sea. Colour process print after Fenner, 19--.

Two boys in single beds applying make-up and perfume to themselves. Colour process print after Rob-Vel, 193-.

Two young men wake up in bed with headaches on Sunday morning after much drinking the night before. Colour lithograph, 1913.

A Scotsman and his female companion swap his kilt and her trousers after going to the public baths. Colour process print after BF, 195-.

Two men in bed on a Saturday night drinking from a bottle of alcohol. Colour process print, ca. 1908.

Two men relaxing outside in a garden, sharing a table and in the company of a dog. Colour process print after L. Mayer, 191-.

Two men in bed with a bottle on Sunday morning, holding their heads. Colour process print, ca. 1908.

A group of 'gay' dogs. Colour process print, 194-/195-.

An unmarried man sits alone smoking a pipe by the fire and pondering the pros and cons of marriage. Colour process print after Rutherford, 191-.

Sailors preparing for a concert party performance. Coloured process print after H. Gervise, 191-.

A sailor and a soldier face to face lighting each other's cigarettes. Colour process print after C.T. Howard, 191-.

Two sailors gazing lecherously at each other. Photograph, 192-.

Boys dressed as sailors in a line, varying in height. Colour process print, 191-.

Sailors of different characters. Colour process print after D. McGill, 192-.

A sailor from HMS Dreadnought, clenching his fist. Process print, 1915.

A sailor on the dock, smoking. Colour process print after G.A.S., ca. 1915.

Bert Murray in character as a sailor pouring himself a drink. Photographic postcard, 192-.

A sailor on the street, play-fighting with a boy. Colour process print after G.A.S., ca. 1915.

Bert Murray in character as a sailor. Photographic postcard, 192-.

A sailor with his girl friend at a sideshow. Colour process print after F. Spurgin, 191-.

Two Belgian soldiers cleaning their uniforms. Coloured photographic postcard, 192-.

A senior Scout poses next to a tree. Photographic postcard, ca. 1920.

Two Belgian soldiers contemplating documents. Colour photographic postcard, 192-.

Charles Gray and Jack Greer in character as a couple of sailors under the name "Shrimp and Lobster". Photographic postcard by Central Photographic Co., ca. 1930.

Two men pose as a sailor and a soldier. Photographic postcard, ca. 1905.

Two young soldiers. Photograph, ca. 1955.

A group of soldiers posing for an informal portrait. Photograph, 193-.

People relaxing at a summer camp on the Thames. Photographic postcard, ca. 1911.

Scouts in a summer camp at Kapellen near Antwerp, peeling potatoes. Photographic postcard, ca. 1951.

A French and a British sailor embrace, with their ships inset below; representing alliance between the French and British navies. Coloured photographic postcard, 191-.

Bermondsey swimming baths: interior. Photographic postcard, ca. 1906.

Boy scouts in camp. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Three sailors from H.M.S. Natal sitting together: one is in uniform, the other two are wearing pseudo-Oriental costumes. Photographic postcard by T.E. Lonnergan, 191-.

Two British naval officers in an intimate pose, one with his arms round the other. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Belgian military recruits celebrating the end of their training stint at Camp Beverlo. Photographic postcard, 192-.

A lance-corporal posing with a bicycle. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Sailors posing in an engine room. Photographic postcard, 191-.

Belgian soldiers posing with a dog. Photographic postcard, 191-.

British soldiers inset above a view of the Rhine at Cologne. Photographic postcard, 1919.

Two men outside their tent at Camp Tecumseh, near Schenectady, New York. Photographic postcard, 1912.

Soldiers during inspection: an officer lovingly straightening the uniform of a soldier. Photographic postcard, 191-.

World War I: three soldiers, one lighting his cigarette from another's. Colour process print, 19--.

Two Marines and a young sailor sitting together on board ship. Photographic postcard, 192-.

World War II: engineers of the GHQ Middle East Forces (?) relaxing on the coast of Egypt (?). Photographic postcard, 194-.

Three French or Belgian soldiers arm-in-arm in a park smoking and drinking beer. Photographic postcard, 190- (?).

A French soldier in front of the French flag. Colour process print, 191-.

Soldiers in the 45th Rattray's Sikhs infantry regiment. Colour process print after A.C. Lovett, 191-.

A French and a British sailor clasping hands in front of the spirit of Lord Nelson; representing Anglo-French naval cooperation in World War I. Colour process print, 191-.

A libel about the colonel of a garrison is invented by a junior soldier and works its way round to the colonel himself. Colour process print after N. Pocock, 191-.

A Belgian soldier in front of the Belgian flag. Colour process print, 191-.

A Scottish soldier stands holding his rifle. Colour process print after C.T. Howard, ca. 1915.

Two military officers in uniform sitting at a table in a domestic kitchen. Photographic postcard, 191-.

Two soldiers stand arm-in-arm outside a building of corrugated metal (barracks?). Photographic postcard, 191-.

Two soldiers embrace in a field. Photographic postcard, 191-.

Two soldiers stand together for a portrait. Photographic postcard by W.H. warren, 191-.

A young Belgian cavalry officer holding a baton and gloves. Photographic postcard, 193-.

A French and a British soldier looking at a photographic postcard. Coloured photographic postcard, 191-.

Two naval officers posing with a dog. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Ecole Normale de Gymnastique et d'Escrime, Joinville, Val-de-Marne: Belgian soldiers performing gymnastic exercises. Process print, 190-.

Truman Capote. Process print, 1983.

Wellcome uses cookies.

Truman Capote. Process print, 1983.

Collection contents

About this work

Publication/Creation

Physical description

Series

Contributors

Lettering

Notes

Reference

Type/Technique

Languages

Subjects

Where to find it

Romantic fantasy and comic postcards

Permanent link