By chance, two deltiologists meet. Initially, unbeknown to each other, they share the same collecting interest, namely picture postcards from the Transvaal-based town of Middelburg. Ironically, today, they only stay some five kilometers from each other.
Rex collects Middelburg postcards because of him having resided in Middelburg in his younger adult years. He was also the mayor of Middelburg in the early 1990s. Carol on the other hand collects Middelburg as part of a larger historical Transvaal-themed research collection.
We agreed to combine our collections to present a richer historical visual narrative of this town which was established as early as 1866. This article then also becomes the third in a series on old Transvaal towns relying on picture postcards of old (between 1900 and 1920s). The first two articles were on the towns of Heidelberg (click here to read) and Standerton (click here to read).
The photographic picture postcard was mainly in use between 1900 and the 1920s resulting in the visual history of this, and future Transvaal towns on which articles are pending, being restricted to a period of 20 years.
This article also does not portray the full visual history for this period as the historical narrative presented below was determined by the 100-year-old Middelburg picture postcards available between the two collections.
The postcards included in this article are therefore by no means a complete representation of postcards produced on Middelburg before 1920.
Middelburg had the honour of having a little booklet, containing some early picture postcards on the...
