Fern St Postcards - Presentation at the Museum

The Great Fern Street Postcard Mystery

www.fernstreetpostcards.com

• 120 picture postcards • collected by or written to

Martin Crosby1 Fern Street, Millfield

, Sunderland

• in first half 20th century• bought at auction• with intention to publish as a book

The Flower Streets

About Me: Brenda Burrell• artist, photographer, student • not a historian, curator or genealogist• collector of old photographs & postcards• applied for exhibition funds to

The Social: Encountering Photography• opportunity to show at Sunderland Museum• the perfect location – overjoyed.

Postcards….

Quick, cheap, short-form, attentive…

Modern equivalents?the text message, the Tweet, the Facebook

status….

@FernStPostcards

Typologies of the Postcards

• Colour: 50 – 41.6%• Black & White: 63 – 52.5%

• Landscape, landmarks, scenic: 108• Oddities: 4 • Portraits: 9

• Written: 15 – 12.5%

numbers don’t add up to 120 due to double counting & overlaps

Unknown location

World’s largest ship?

Luzern

Alf.

3, Oaklands Terrace

Annie & John

The Careless Days

• Children’s postcards school holidays

Hi Brenda,

Sorry, I'm not your Facebook correspondent. But thanks for your message, anyway.Fascinating exhibition and intriguing mystery to which I can offer you an answer. I’msurprised you haven't found him already - he's in the 1911 census (copy attached) aged 11, son of James and Ann Isab. Crosby, along with his siblings.

He was a cousin of my grandfather, Thomas William Crosby of Sunderland.

Martin was a common name down the generations in our family. The first of my ancestors to live inSunderland was a Martin - he moved from Robin Hood's Bay, where the Crosbys had been farmers andlater trawlermen for generations, in the early 1800s. He was registered as a merchant seaman and wasdoubtless lured by the coal trade. His son, James George, was a joiner - whether in the ship building,mining or building industry we don't know..James George Crosby named his second son Martin; he diedin infancy and James re-used the name for a later son, who died in service in the British army in India. Undeterred by the ill fortune that seemed to have attached to the name, another of James George Crosby's sons, James Frederick Crosby, named his second son Martin; he is your Fern Street resident.

Wishing you every success with the exhibition. Sadly I'm at the other end of the country.

Best regardsPeter Crosby

Annie & John

Peter’s comment on the website.

Peter’s comment on the website

“wishing you many happy returns of the day”

Find me:Tweet @brendadadaOr @fernstreetpostcards

Read, comment:www.fernstreetpostcards.com

Send A Postcard:Fern St Postcardsc/o Northern Centre Of PhotographySunderlandSR1 3SD