> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Burntwood grandmother’s huge collection of postcards to be sold at auction - URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/burntwood-grandmothers-huge-collection-of-postcards-to-be-sold-at-auction/ - Published: 2023-04-13T06:08:00.000Z - Updated: 2023-04-12T12:50:55.000Z - Description: A collection of around three quarters of a million postcards belonging to a Burntwood grandmother are to be sold at auction. - Author: Lichfield Live - Tags: Burntwood, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:01, News A collection of around three quarters of a million postcards belonging to a Burntwood grandmother are to be sold at auction. Jane Westwood began collecting the individual cards when she was just six. The 63-year-old’s collection now fills a spare bedroom of her home and features cards dating back to the early 1900s. But she said it was now time for the postcards to find a new home. > “It started when I was six years old – my sister moved to Australia and would send me postcards. > > “I kept them and put them into a book and as I got older it became serious interest. > > “I would even buy a trunk load of them and then sit here in the lounge and go through the whole case one by one. It’s the fun of never knowing what we’re going to find in the bottom of a box. > > “I only bought cards I liked and it did develop into an obsession – wherever I went, I didn’t look for anything other than postcards. > > “I just want it all to go to someone who will appreciate them.” > > Jane Westwood The archive of boxes and albums of postcards is so great that auctioneers have warned they could take years to collate and sell as work continues to collate them into categories – but they also expect them to fetch between £50,000 and £75,000. While many of the postcards are photographic, numerous examples are hand-coloured, embossed or made from silk. Some even use real feathers to depict birds, while others include shiny novelty cards with wobbly eyes. The collection even stretches to a couple of vintage postcard dispensers, one of which will feature in the first Richard Winterton Auctioneers sale on 26th April. ## “Very, very impressive” A team from the Fradley-based business is sifting through each card in the collection with a view to offering some for sale on a monthly basis. The first auction includes an album of London postcards ranging from Edwardian times to the 1960s and featuring major historical sites including Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column, Buckingham palace, Marble Arch, the Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park Corner and Horse Guards Parade. Another interesting lot features an album of romantic French courtship postcards from the early 20th century. The 59 cards are all addressed to a Mademoiselle Amelia Vaurat of Baignes-Sainte-Radegonde, Charente in southwest France, and all are covered in a mysterious numerical code – probably a private lovers’ cypher. Other highlights are postcards of birds created with real feathers and 24 early to mid-20th century Japanese postcards, some hand-coloured, featuring people and topography including Mount Fuji in a lacquered, concertina fold-out album. Ephemera specialist Robert French said: > “It is the most wonderful, eclectic collection of postcards I have ever come across. > > “Not only has it got everything in terms of subjects from topographical to transport, it’s the sheer quality of the cards themselves and the comprehensive cataloguing and organising accomplished by Jane. > > “It is very, very impressive – it’s almost impossible to put a price on the collection as it’s so special > > “We would expect a total in the region of £50,000 to £75,000 but in many respects it’s priceless.” > > Robert French, Richard Winterton Auctioneers The full catalogue will be available at [www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auction-dates](http://www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auction-dates?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk) a week before the sale.