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D. Constance Ltd.

postcard

Littlehampton from the air

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Postcard publisher, 36 Beach Road, Littlehampton. Anthony Byatt in his book Picture postcards and their publishers (1978, Golden Age Postcard Books, Malvern) discusses the history of this firm in some detail. It was founded in the late 1930s by Joseph Asher at 4A Ivy Lane next to Paternoster Road in London, but heavy bombing of the area early in the Second World War forced it to relocate to 22 Christchurch Road at Streatham Hill. It was still at Christchurch Road in the early 1950s when it published some uncoloured halftones and real photographic cards of Hastings, but in the early 1960s it moved to Littlehampton. It closed down in the late 1980s.

In its heyday the firm published a vast range of coloured comic postcards, particularly the saucy seaside variety. Artists featured included Donald McGill, "Pedro" (aka Phil Millar), Davo, Rex, Fay and Dudley. In addition, the firm issued colour view cards of Norfolk, Suffolk, Sussex and perhaps other counties from the mid 1960s until the late 1970s, if not the 1980s. The Sussex cards are marred in some cases by obviously fake cloud effects. Places shown include Bognor, Elmer, Littlehampton, Rustington, Worthing, Lancing, Shoreham, Brighton (Royal Pavilion, The Lanes, Palace Pier, the Marina etc.), Eastbourne (including the Congress Theatre, opened in 1963), Storrington and Henfield. The colour photographs, some credited to John T. Pullen, were mostly taken in the mid to late 1960s judging from the types of cars that are shown. Some cards of boats in Brighton Marina date from after its opening in Autumn 1978. Some of the most interesting cards that Constance issued are air views of Bognor Regis (dated as 1970 or 1971 by several collectors), Arundel and Littlehampton.

Many of the cards of Sussex were printed in Britain. However, some cards marked "Constance" were printed in Holland and "distributed by J. Hyman, Hove". Presumably, Constance originally supplied retailers directly, but then handed over the work to Hyman.

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