Ken White (1923-2012) was an avid local historian, author, geographer, and environmentalist who was, for many years, involved with the Lewisham Local History Society and its Museum Group. When he died, Ken left numerous important historical collections to the archive, including a large collection of postcards.
The Collection
The Ken White Postcard Collection is comprised of 7,000 postcards. However, unlike many postcard collections, 4,200 (60%) of these have been posted and contain written messages.
A brief initial audit of the collection suggests that most of the written postcards date from between 1880 and 1960 and, more often than not, they were posted to addresses in London and, in particular, south-east London.
The postcard images are very broad and varied, but they include: British local and national landscapes and buildings; contemporary illustrations, cartoons, and sketches; messages relating to occasions such as birthdays and Christmas; and religious and cultural images and iconography.
However, it is the messages and information on the reverse of the cards that make them significant and interesting, particularly for historians.
The Project
The entire project consists of four discrete but interconnected stages:
1. Cataloguing; 2. Digitisation; 3. Transcription; and 4. Conservation.
Stage one of the project commenced in July 2025 as a result of generous support from the Marc Fitch Fund.
The catalogue will act as a vital finding aid and provide important data about the date, recipient, sender, address, image, and themes recorded on each postcard. From that data, it will be possible to rationalise and organise the physical collection in analytical ways with particular research questions in mind.
For example, we will be able to identify patterns in correspondence and movement within families and communities, or links between particular themes and those families and communities. A catalogue will also provide important indexing data which would enable us to progress with the subsequent three stages of the project.
The cataloguing will produce a sizable and valuable database and finding aid. This will allow researchers to sort and filter information about the collection, to identify patterns and relationships within the collection, and to address research questions across a wide range of themes and topics.
Project Progress
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- July 2025: The entire collection was sleeved and numbered in preparation for cataloguing
- August 2025: The cataloguing commenced
- January 2026: Initial findings presented to the Lewisham Local History Society
- February 2026: Approximately 1/3 of the written postcards catalogued