A photographic postcard. || The printed information on the back of this photographic postcard includes the name of the photographer: ‘OVERTON. Photographer, 85 Prospect Street, Hull.’, plus the figure ‘2580’. In addition, there is a message written in black ink, which reads: ‘With Love from Ada / Christmas 1917.’ Further information has also been pencilled in a different hand: ‘196221 Gunner G Colley / Antie sic Aircraft Section France’. This may be a red herring, however, because the soldier–father’s cap badge does not seem to be a match for the Royal Artillery’s.

A real photographic postcard || The family of three pictured on the front of this real photographic postcard consists of a small girl, dressed in white, her mother and her soldier–father, who is wearing a dark lanyard and a leather belt. The badges on his collar indicate that he is serving in an infantry Pioneer battalion. The name and address of the studio in which they are pictured are printed on the back: ‘Hall & Siggers, Keighley West Yorkshire.’. || || Photograph || Front || A photograph of a British soldier and his family

We know that the studio in which the family pictured on the front of this real photographic postcard was in Greenwich (in south-east London), because the photographer’s details have been printed on the reverse: ‘F. Sharp, 27 Trafalgar Road, Greenwich / By Special Appointment to the Admiralty’. The family comprises three girls, wearing identical dresses and ribbons in their hair; their mother, who is holding a toddler on her lap; and their soldier–father (a medal ribbon is visible above his left breast pocket). || A real photographic postcard || || Photograph || A photograph of a British soldier and his family || Front