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<p>The English novelist Sir Hugh Walpole (1884-1941), at the height of his fame in the 1920s, posing in his garden in the Lake District.</p>

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-.

Dublin Castle. Process print, 1904.

Rod La Rocque. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Billy Fury. Photographic postcard, 195-.

Reynaldo Hahn. Photographic postcard by H. Manuel, 190-.

Peter Wyngarde. Colour process print, 197-.

Russell Harty. Process print, 198-.

Truman Capote. Process print, 1983.

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.

Hugh Walpole at Skiddaw House. Photographic postcard by G.P. Abraham Ltd., 192-.

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Hugh Walpole at Skiddaw House. Photographic postcard by G.P. Abraham Ltd., 192-.

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Romantic fantasy and comic postcards

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