Rose P series postcards
| Number Range | Approximate Period | Key Context & Identifiers |
| P.1 – P.500 | 1913 – c. 1918 | George Rose begins the P Series. Unpaved roads, early Edwardian/WWI-era fashion, low two-digit numbers for popular local spots. |
| P.501 – P.1500 | c. 1918 – 1924 | Post-WWI tourism boom. Growing motor transport, early service stations, expanding coverage into regional Victoria. |
| P.1501 – P.3000 | c. 1925 – 1931 | Late 1920s boom. Transition period: George Rose sells the business to employees Edward Gilbert & Herbert Cutts in 1931. |
| P.3001 – P.6000 | c. 1932 – 1939 | Mid-to-late 1930s expansion. Modernized petrol branding appears (e.g., Super Plume Ethyl starting 1934). Mid-P.4000s usually date around 1935–1937. |
| P.6001 – P.9000 | c. 1940 – 1949 | WWII and early post-war era. Herbert Cutts takes full ownership (1940). Paper shortages during war years slightly slowed new photo production. |
| P.9001 – P.13000 | c. 1950 – 1959 | 1950s motor travel surge. Tasmanian views added in dedicated blocks (e.g., P.12300–P.12716 around 1946–1950s). 1956 Olympic Melbourne views. |
| P.13001 – P.14970 | c. 1960 – 1967 | End of the darkroom real-photo era. In 1967, production switched to machine-printed color postcards. |
Why Numbers Can Be Reused or Misleading
If a number seems out of place for a given era, it usually comes down to three main reasons:
- Re-photographing the Same View (Re-issues): When a popular postcard sold out and the original view became outdated (e.g., new buildings, new cars, or road sealing), Rose photographers often returned to the exact same spot, took a new photo, and assigned it the original number (or added a letter suffix like
P.4269A). - Bulk Purchases of External Archives: When Rose acquired local collections—such as buying out Spurling & Son in Tasmania—they assigned entire custom numeric blocks to those older negatives (e.g., the
P.123100series). - Regional Block Allocations: Photographers sent into specific regions (like interstate trips to SA, NSW, or QLD) were sometimes allocated blocks of numbers in advance, leading to slight chronological jumps compared to local Victorian releases.
Secondary Clues to Confirm Date (Beyond the Number)
When dating a Rose postcard, physical attributes on the reverse side can narrow down the era:
- The Logo / Rose Symbol: Early Victorian cards (1913–1920s) feature a large, ornate Rose emblem on the reverse. Through the 1930s and post-war years, this rose symbol was progressively scaled down.
- Paper Stock: Post-WWII cards (late 1940s–1950s) often used slightly glossier or thinner photographic stock compared to the heavy, matte silver-gelatin stock of the 1910s and 1920s.
- Publisher Text:
- Early cards: “George Rose, Publisher, Melbourne” or “The Rose Series P. [x]”
- Post-1931: “The Rose Series Co. Pty. Ltd., Armadale, Vic.
Aispy
The “Airspy” Brand: “Airspy” was the trade name for aerial photographs taken by pioneering aviator/photographer C.D. Pratt (Charles Daniel Pratt), who produced thousands of low-altitude aerial views for The Rose Stereograph Company. Pratt’s peak aerial mapping work across regional Victoria and the Dandenongs ran from the late 1920s through the mid-1950s.
George G. Mercy
Signed his photos G.G.M. Photo.
Mercy’s peak activity photographing local Sassafras scenes, guest houses etc., was between 1904 and 1914.
Ai