In 1902 the introduction of the divided back post card, which allowed a message to be written on the same side as the address, led to a very rapid increase in the number of cards being published. Many of the cards were printed on the continent and it is clear that salesmen were travelling the country persuading local shops that they should be selling their own line in view cards.
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| Mentmore Towers, posted 1905 |
In the case of Rush and Warwick, a Bedford based stationer and printer, it seems possible that a single large order was placed for high qualify coloured views covering much of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire (with others in Bucks). The photographs were probably taken in the summer of 1905 and the post cards were printed in Saxony in time for Christmas (some with a pre-printed message in the message area), while others were printed with a slightly different back because of the change in postal regulations in 1906.
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| The Old Stocks, Aldbury |
Possibly the order was too optimistic -and so far I have found no evidence that Rush & Warwick published any other cards of this type - so a date of circa 1906 can be applied to all the cards in this series. For a more detailed analysis, with examples of their cards, and a picture of the distinctive back, see
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