Card fair comes up trumps

Annabel Williams • Published 4 Jul 2008 10:00 0 Comments

THEY came from far and wide to Reading at the weekend to buy and sell little pieces of history.

Some 93 dealers from across Britain gathered at The Rivermead leisure centre for the Reading and District Cigarette Card and Postcard Club's 17th annual fair.

The one-day event saw more than 750 enthusiasts under one roof, with tens of thousands of post and cigarette cards, from modern examples to ones decades old.

The 60-year-old club, which has around 70 members, meets twice a month to buy, sell and marvel over each other's collections.

Treasurer Roy Sheppard told The Chronicle: "This is the biggest one-day fair in the country. We've even had someone over from Belgium, some from Scotland, one from the Isle of Man."

Addressing the fair, club president Ken Hussey urged collectors not to hide their cards from view.

He said: "Please do not hide your wonderful cards in draws with elastic bands around them.

"We at Reading like to talk about them, display them, and enter competitions with them such as the ones we have here today.

"We feel this is the future of the club."

Tony and Rosa Lawrence, from Tilehurst, now deal postcards full time since Mr Lawrence fancied a career change after leaving the RAF 25 years ago.

Mrs Lawrence said: "Postcards from Norfolk and the Isle of Wight have been selling well, so there must be some collectors from those areas here today."

To join the club, contact secretary Geoff Ashton on 01628 637868.

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 03 Jul 08

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