Bath - Laundries, Clothing, Confectionery & Sausages

A bit more industrial this time with  an unused postcard for Willways Dye Works and Laundry Co., which has a nice picture of the river on the reverse.

W & R Cook Ltd was a woollen mill and later a clothing factory.  This envelope to Nova Scotia dates from November 1903, after they started manufacturing ready-made clothing.

Bryant Bros sold Scotch Confectionery (1905), while Spear Bros & Clark produced Wiltshire Bacon and celebrated Bath Sausages (1901).

Bath - Books

A book-ish theme this time, starting with some postcards from W.H. Smith & Son, from 1909 to 1923.

... a couple more postcards with a Bath book related theme, from 1908 and 1941.

... and some advertising material from T. Harding, Son & Co., printers, paper bag makers, and wholesale stationers.

Bath - Brewing

A switch to a brewing theme - this first envelope from Smith Bros & Co. Ltd. has a Bath Krag cancel from 1915.

This earlier but less pretty envelope, used in April 1855, has the seal of the Northgate Brewery on the reverse.

And finally a couple of pieces of brewing ephemera ...

Bath - Hotels

The first hotel is the Grand Pump Room Hotel, with examples of their envelopes from 1893 and 1897.

York House Hotel was previously a Coaching Inn (more on this later).  This envelope is from 1898.

The Empire Hotel (postcard sent in 1910) was described as a "monstrosity and an unbelievable piece of pompous architecture" by Pevsner.

Bath Miscellany - Trams, Advertising, Pump Rooms, Sanitation

The next series of posts are going to be yet more "Bath", but this time of a more miscellaneous or ephemeral nature - starting with a comic postcard dated 1st January 1904 predicting the outcome of the first electric tram service in Bath, which started on 2nd January 1904.

This next sheet has two illustrated envelopes with sepia-toned images of the Spa and the river, from 1937 and 1956 respectively.  The bottom envelope has a nice "TO PAY / POSTED / UNPAID" cachet.

Then a piece of ephemera showing the price list for the Bath Pump Rooms, from July 1842.

This next entire is from the City of Bath Urban Sanitary Authority, from October 1893, with a nice Bath squared circle cancel.

This is the contents of the entire, requiring that the drains be fixed.

"Mis-directed / Bath"

Here are two examples of the "Mis-directed / Bath" handstamp, the first from June 1861.

The second example is from July 1879, nine years later than previously recorded.

"MISSENT TO BATH"

Here are examples of three different Missent to Bath handstamps, starting with a framed "MISSENT TO BATH" handstamp from March 1820, known in use from 1813 to 1825.

The next cover has a blue "Missent to / Bath" handstamp from August 1852, known in use from 1849 to 1852 in blue.

The final cover has a blue "Mis-sent / to / Bath" handstamp from July 1857, known in use from 1857 to 1860 in blue.

"RETURN'D / FROM BATH"

Here are two examples of a framed "RETURN'D / FROM BATH" handstamp, both from 1815.  The handstamp is known in use from 1814 to 1822.

Early Bath manuscript marks

This set of three entires all have manuscript marks, starting with this first entire from 1787 which has a manuscript "Missent to Bath" in (faded) red.  The entire is addressed to Bute in Scotland and went to Bath instead.

This next entire from 1800 has a black manuscript "Missent" and a faded red "Retn from Bath" as it was redirected to Harrogate.  Mail to Bath often had to be redirected as people coming to take the waters moved on, in this case to another spa town.

This entire from 1807 has a red manuscript "Retd from Bath" as it was redirected back to London.  It was charged 1/4d, twice the 8d charge for London to Bath.