The John Beagles logo appearing on cards produced before his death
The logo of J. Beagles & Co. Ltd. used after the firm was incorporated following Beagles' death
A Christmas card produced by Beagles, c. 1905-10[1]
Maude Fealy as "Mercia" on a Beagles card

John Beagles (1844 – 8 January 1907) was an English printer and publisher, especially of real photo postcards, through his company, J. Beagles & Co.

Early life

John Beagles was born in Whaplode Drove,[2] Lincolnshire, in 1844 to John and Jane Beagles, and christened on 11 June 1844.[3] His father was a "butcher master".[4] In 1861, John Beagles junior was recorded as a "pupil teacher".[5]

J. Beagles & Co.

In the 1891 census, Beagles was recorded as a "photographic publisher" in Nottingham in the household of Thomas William Stevenson, printer, who would later be his executor.[6] Later, he traded as J. Beagles & Co. from Little Britain, London, E.C.

Beagles and his successors produced a wide variety of postcards that included celebrities, stars of stage and screen, topographical and view cards in their Phototint series, and Louis Wain's Matrimonial Cats.[7] The company also published a long series of scenes of London life such as The Telegraph Messenger and The Shoe Black,[8] and humorous cards during the First World War.[9] Often they republished, in postcard form, photographic portraits made by others.[10]

The business continued as J. Beagles & Co. Ltd. after Beagles' death.[11]

Death

Beagles died at his home, 9 Rockley Road, Shepherd's Bush, London, on 8 January 1907. Probate was granted in London to Thomas William Stevenson on an estate of £554.[12]

References

  1. ↑ On Christmas Day with keen delight &c. National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  2. ↑ John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1901. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  3. ↑ John Beagles England Births and Christenings. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  4. ↑ John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1861. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  5. ↑ John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1861. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  6. ↑ John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1891. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Beagles, J. & Co. Ltd". postcardmania.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Smith, J.H.D. (1997) IPM catalogue of picture postcards and year book 1997. Lewes: IPM. p. 139.
  9. ↑ Taylor, James. (2016). Pack up your troubles: How humorous postcards helped to win World War I. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-84486-342-6.
  10. ↑ J. Beagles & Co (active 1903-). National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  11. ↑ The British Trade Journal, Vol. 53 (1915), p. 34.
  12. ↑ 1907 Probate Calendar. Retrieved 25 February 2017.

Further reading

  • Byatt, Anthony. (1978) Picture postcards and their publishers: An illustrated account identifying Britain's major postcard publishers 1894 to 1939 and the great variety of cards they issued. Malvern: Golden Age Postcard Books. ISBN 095062120X
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