Sefton: The Postcard Collection

Sefton: The Postcard Collection

By Hugh Hollinghurst
Amberley Publishing
£14.99

Reviewed by Colin Serjent

I am not a big fan of Christmas by any means but this book would serve as an ideal present for those who are interested in local history.

This is the latest title in Amberley Publishing ‘Postcard Collection’ series and is very impressive.

It includes a diverse range of old postcards which offer a pictorial insight into the history of Sefton, a Merseyside Metropolitan Borough.

Within the borough are Southport, Formby, Sefton, Maghull, Crosby, Blundellsands, Waterloo, Seaforth, Litherland and Bootle.

Within its 96 pages the book contains 170 postcards, both black and white and in colour.

Among my favourites are the promenade in Southport; miniature trains in Southport; Formby-By-The-Sea; Leeds Liverpool Canal (the stretch in Maghull).

Others which appealed to me were Crosby Village; the duck pond in Crosby; Blundellsands shore; Potters Barn, Seaforth; The Five Lamps, Waterloo; Bridge Road Shop, Litherland; Horse drawn tram in Litherland; Bootle carnivals; and Bootle beach – which does not exist any more.

In his introduction to the book, author Hugh Hollinghurst states that over a hundred years ago postcards ‘were the best way of recording and transmitting the realities of your location or holiday destination’.

He added that ‘most of those postcards in Southport are in colour, reflecting the nature of the clients who would want an attractive presentation and could afford it. The original black and white was prevalent elsewhere.’

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