MY COLLECTION
UK MAP POSTCARDS BY DESIGN
Salmon

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J Salmon Ltd was the longest running publisher of postcards, established in 1880, based in Sevenoaks, Kent. The company ceased trading in December 2017 for two reasons, a) that postcard sales had declined significantly due to the rise of social media and b) there was no further members of the Salmon family willing to join the business (source BBC news article 25/09/2017).

The Salmon "green" map postcards were the most prolific series, issued at least five times in different styles or sizes. The first set (of which I have a complete collection) comprised of 70* designs, largely by M F Peck and a few by P Posner**.

The three main series were...
the Original size first release of all 70 designs* (5½ inches x 3½ inches), the Green-Bordered reprint issue (approx 15cm x 10.5cm, known as 'continental size' aka A6) where the map itself remained exactly the same size as the first release, and the Unbordered issue (also continental size / A6) where the map was expanded in size to fill the card.

There was also a fourth Gold-Bordered Set and a fifth Larger Set each measuring approx 17.5cm x 12.5cm.


Prior to the main series of Salmon map postcards there were several issued by J Salmon, of which I only have a few (shown immediately below). Some of these were very similar in design to the W E Mack postcards and in fact one of the W E Mack cards is published by Salmon (shown below).

There was also the Rivers Set, in two sizes (5½ inches x 3½ inches and the later Blue-Bordered and Unbordered continental size).

The last Salmon map postcard series is the set of ten David Hobbs Comic Maps. In addition there was the Multiview series (of six) and the Isle of Wight Colour series.

Since the company ceased trading, some of M F Peck's map images have been re-emerging, including one never before seen and so far two altered into new postcards. See the 'Beyond Salmon' section at the bottom of this gallery.

In addition to the usual colour variations due to many print-runs, some Salmon map postcards had physical variations as shown in this Salmon Variants sub-gallery.

*In reality only 68 designs as Cornwall was issued twice, first with the county aligned due west, and later re-drawn and correctly aligned south-west. Somerset was also issued twice, as Somerset, then as Somerset & Avon.
** Five of the remaining seven designs were drawn by Phoebe June Posner after the tragic death of Maisie Peck in 1974. The last two of the remaining seven designs (the canals) were un-signed and therefore artist unknown.


EARLIEST POSTCARDS


Isle of Man
4751

Isle of Wight
Copyright as W E Mack but Published by J Salmon
570

North Wales
578

North Wales
578

North Wales (Novelty Pull-Out)
101

East Anglia
Copyright as W E Mack but Published by J Salmon
2039

Historic Hastings
930

Hastings and St. Leonards
931

Isle of Man
571

England
949


FIRST MAIN SET (5½ inches x 3½ inches)
COMPLETE COLLECTION (70 Postcards)


Short-code logo

Long-code logo
This first series was issued with a short 4-digit code using the logo above left, then again with both the short-code and the new 10-digit code (known to collectors as 'dual code) with either no logo or the newer logo above right , then finally with just the long code and the logo above right. Not all the original short-code maps were re-issued with long codes as shown in the section below. There are 70 postcards in this collection covering 68 places.

Anglesey
4622 and 1-10-00-03

Cambridge
4618 and 1-28-01-11

Cheshire
4658 and 1-18-00-01

The Chiltern Hills
4661 and 1-37-00-02

Due-West Cornwall
4558

Cornwall
4558 and 1-44-00-02

South West Cornwall
4636 and 1-44-00-01

The Cotswolds
4640 and 1-33-06-18

Dartmoor
4645 and 1-48-02-01

Dorset
4646 and 1-54-00-05

Edinburgh
4615 and 1-01-01-18

Epping Forest
4654

Essex
1-40-00-02

Exmoor
4652 and 1-52-02-04

Gower
4650 and 1-16-01-01

Guernsey
4592

Hampshire
4586 and 1-56-00-03

Hereford and Worcester
1-32-00-02

Isle of Man
4638 and 1-07-00-02

Isle of Purbeck
4642 and 1-54-00-08

Isle of Wight
4590 and 1-59-00-03

The Isles of Scilly
4637 and 1-43-03-07

Jersey
4623

Kent
4589 and 1-65-00-04

Llangollen Canal
1-22-05-11

Lleyn Peninsula
4648 and 1-11-00-01

London
4604 and 1-42-02-22

Lorna Doone Country
1-52-02-22

The New Forest
4647 and 1-57-01-10

Norfolk Broads
4556 and 1-30-00-05

Northamptonshire
1-27-00-01

North East Kent
4649 and 1-64-00-05

North Devon
4581 and 1-47-00-04

North Norfolk
4557 and 1-29-00-02

North Wales
4587 and 1-11-00-05

Norwich
4643 and 1-29-09-07

Oxford
4603 and 1-34-01-21

River Bure
1-30-02-38

River Thames
4657 and 1-35-00-05

River Thurne
1-30-04-25

Romney Marsh
4651 and 1-64-17-01

Shakespeare Country
4599 and 1-26-01-10

Snowdonia
4644 and 1-11-00-04

Somerset
4602 and 1-52-00-02

Somerset and Avon
1-52-00-02

South Devon
4583 and 1-47-00-01

South Wales
4598 and 1-15-00-01

Stratford upon Avon
4656 and 1-26-01-27

Suffolk
4600 and 1-31-00-01

Surrey
4621 and 1-60-00-02

Sussex
4601 and 1-62-00-01

Thames Valley
4624 and 1-35-00-01

West and Central Scotland
4616 and 1-01-00-05

West Wales
1-15-00-02

York
4633 and 1-09-07-19

Yorkshire Dales
4625 and 1-09-00-05

The Broads
4660 and 1-30-00-06

Elan Valley Lakes
4655 and 1-14-03-07

The Fens
4653 and 1-28-00-01

The Lake District
4639 and 1-04-01-06

Lancashire
4641 and 1-05-00-01

Lincolnshire
1-21-00-03

Northumberland
1-02-00-01 and 1-02-06-15F

Nottinghamshire
1-20-00-01

Oxford Canal
1-34-05-07

The Peak District
4626 and 1-19-00-01

River Ant
1-30-03-16 and 1-30-03-16B

Wiltshire
1-55-00-03 and 1-55-00-03E

Wye Valley
4634 and 1-32-05-01

Yorkshire Coast
4635 and 1-08-00-01


SECOND MAIN SET (approx 15cm x 10.5cm) GREEN-BORDERED
This second series was issued with just the long-code and using the logo above. The maps remained the same size as the original series and the green border was added to bring the size of the postcard up-to-date to 'continental size' (aka A6) in line with other postcard publishers. Not all designs were released in this series as shown in the section below.

Anglesey
2-10-00-03

Cambridge
2-28-01-11

Cheshire
2-18-00-01
The Chiltern Hills
Publication status unknown
Due West Cornwall
Not issued in this series

Cornwall
2-44-00-02

South West Cornwall
2-44-00-01

The Cotswolds
2-33-06-18

Dartmoor
2-48-02-01

Dorset
2-54-00-05
Edinburgh
Publication status unknown

Epping Forest

Not issued in this series***

*** Epping Forest was only issued as a small card (shown in the first part of the gallery) but it was assigned the new code of 1-40-06-01 but then never published.
The card showing in this green-bordered part of the gallery is a map postcard collector fan-production lovingly produced with the code 2-40-06-01 and very few exist.


Essex
2-40-00-02
Exmoor
Publication status unknown

Gower
2-16-01-01
Guernsey
Publication status unknown

Hampshire
2-56-00-03

Hereford and Worcester
2-32-00-02
Isle of Man
Publication status unknown

Isle of Purbeck
2-54-00-08

Isle of Wight
2-59-00-03

The Isles of Scilly
2-43-03-07
Jersey
Publication status unknown

Kent
2-65-00-04

Llangollen Canal
2-22-05-11

Lleyn Peninsula
2-11-00-01
London
Publication status unknown

Lorna Doone Country
2-52-02-22

The New Forest
2-57-01-10

Norfolk Broads
2-30-00-05

Northamptonshire
2-27-00-01
North East Kent
Publication status unknown

North Devon
2-47-00-04

North Norfolk
2-29-00-02

North Wales
2-11-00-05

Norwich
2-29-09-07

Oxford
2-34-01-21

River Bure
2-30-02-38
The River Thames
Publication status unknown

River Thurne
2-30-04-25

Romney Marsh
2-64-17-01

Shakespeare Country
2-26-01-10

Snowdonia
2-11-00-04
Somerset
Publication status unknown

Somerset and Avon
2-52-00-02

South Devon
2-47-00-01

South Wales
2-15-00-01

Stratford upon Avon
2-26-01-27

Suffolk
2-31-00-01

Surrey
2-60-00-02

Sussex
2-62-00-01

Thames Valley
2-35-00-01
West & Central Scotland
Publication status unknown

West Wales
2-15-00-02

York
2-09-07-19

Yorkshire Dales
2-09-00-05

The Broads
2-30-00-06

Elan Valley Lakes
2-14-03-07

The Fens
2-28-00-01

The Lake District
2-04-01-06
Lancashire
Publication status unknown

Lincolnshire
2-21-00-03
Northumberland
Publication status unknown

Nottinghamshire
2-20-00-01

Oxford Canal
2-34-05-07

The Peak District
2-19-00-01

River Ant
2-30-03-16

Wiltshire
2-55-00-03

Wye Valley
2-32-05-01
Yorkshire Coast
Publication status unknown


THIRD MAIN SET (approx 15cm x 10.5cm)
This third series was issued initially using the logo above left, and then for many years subsequent reprints used the logo above centre. The last wave of reprints (and often the ones still found in some shops today) used their final logo above right. The maps were expanded to fit the 'continental size' and as with the green-bordered versions, not all maps were published in this series as shown in the section below.

Anglesey
2-10-00-03

Cambridge
2-28-01-11

Cheshire
2-18-00-01

The Chiltern Hills
2-37-00-02
Due West Cornwall
Not issued in this series

Cornwall
2-44-00-02

South West Cornwall
2-44-00-01

The Cotswolds
2-33-06-18

Dartmoor
2-48-02-01

Dorset
2-54-00-05
Edinburgh
Not issued in this series
Epping Forest
Not issued in this series

Essex
2-40-00-02

Exmoor
2-52-02-04

Gower
2-16-01-01
Guernsey
Publication status unknown

Hampshire
2-56-00-03

Hereford and Worcester
2-32-00-02
Isle of Man
Publication status unknown

Isle of Purbeck
2-54-00-08

Isle of Wight
2-59-00-03

The Isles of Scilly
2-43-03-07
Jersey
Publication status unknown

Kent
2-65-00-04

Llangollen Canal
2-22-05-11

Lleyn Peninsula
2-11-00-01
London
Publication status unknown

Lorna Doone Country
2-52-02-22

The New Forest
2-57-01-10

Norfolk Broads
2-30-00-05

Northamptonshire
2-27-00-01

North East Kent
2-64-00-05

North Devon
2-47-00-04

North Norfolk
2-29-00-02

North Wales
2-11-00-05

Norwich
2-29-09-07

Oxford
2-34-01-21

River Bure
2-30-02-38

River Thames
2-35-00-05

River Thurne
2-30-04-25

Romney Marsh
2-64-17-01

Shakespeare Country
2-26-01-10

Snowdonia
2-11-00-04

Somerset
2-52-00-02

Somerset and Avon
2-52-00-02

South Devon
2-47-00-01

South Wales
2-15-00-01

Stratford upon Avon
2-26-01-27

Suffolk
2-31-00-01

Surrey
2-60-00-02

Sussex
2-62-00-01

Thames Valley
2-35-00-01
West & Central Scotland
Not issued in this series

West Wales
2-15-00-02

York
2-09-07-19

Yorkshire Dales
2-09-00-05

The Broads
2-30-00-06

Elan Valley Lakes
2-14-03-07

The Fens
2-28-00-01

The Lake District
2-04-01-06
Lancashire
Publication status unknown

Lincolnshire
2-21-00-03
Northumberland
Publication status unknown

Nottinghamshire
2-20-00-01
Oxford Canal
Publication status unknown

The Peak District
2-19-00-01

River Ant
2-30-03-16

Wiltshire
2-55-00-03

Wye Valley
2-32-05-01

Yorkshire Coast
2-08-00-01


FOURTH SET (approx 17.5cm x 12.5cm) GOLD BORDERED




Hampshire
10-56-00-03

Oxford
10-34-01-21

South Devon
10-47-00-01


My friend Anne found me a slightly smaller (16.5 x 11.5cm) white-bordered 10-code series map postcard of Exmoor labelled on the back as "Images of Exmoor", no Salmon logo but does say published by Salmon.

Exmoor
10-52-02-04




North Wales
10-11-00-05

West Wales
10-15-00-02


FIFTH SET (approx 17.5cm x 12.5cm)




Dorset
10-54-00-05

Hampshire
10-56-00-03

Isle of Wight
10-59-00-03

New Forest
10-57-01-10

North Devon
10-47-00-04

Thames Valley
10-35-00-01

The Lake District
10-04-01-06

The Peak District
10-19-00-01




Elan Valley Lakes
10-14-03-07

South Wales
10-15-00-01


FIRST RIVERS SET (5½ inches x 3½ inches)
This first rivers series was issued with just the long-code and using the logo above.

River Bure
1-30-02-48

River Thurne
1-30-04-30

River Waveney
1-30-06-10

River Yare
1-30-05-21

River Ant
1-30-03-18

River Wye
1-32-05-13K


SECOND RIVERS SET (approx 15cm x 10.5cm) BLUE-BORDERED

The second series of rivers had a blue border added to bring the size of the postcard up-to-date to 'continental size' (aka A6) in line with other postcard publishers - each design was issued with both logos shown above. I don't know if there was a blue-bordered version of the River Wye.

River Bure

2-30-02-48

River Thurne
2-30-04-30

River Waveney
2-30-06-10

River Yare
2-30-05-21

River Ant
2-30-03-18


THIRD RIVERS SET (approx 15cm x 10.5cm)

This third series was issued with the logo above. The maps were expanded to fit the 'continental size', all the little pictures were changed and the title colour was red. I only have two in this size and design.

River Bure
2-30-02-48

River Thurne
2-30-04-30

MINI GUIDES SET (approx 14cm x 10.7cm)


Cambridge Colleges
13-40-08-01

Lorna Doone's Exmoor
13-40-07-01

Oxford Colleges
13-40-13-01


DAVID HOBBS COMIC SET

These designs are from illustrations by David Hobbs and the ten below represent the whole set (confirmed by David Hobbs himself) - They were issued twice, the first time with the reverse titles of "Images of..." and the second time as "Landscape of...".

Cornwall
10/44/00/02

Dorset
10/54/00/05

Isle of Wight
10/59/00/03

Lake District
10/04/01/06

New Forest
10/57/01/10

Norfolk
10/29/00/02

North Devon & Exmoor
10/47/00/04

North Wales
10/11/00/05

South Devon
10/47/00/01

Sussex
10/62/00/01


MULT-VIEW SALMON MAP POSTCARDS


Isle of Wight
2-59-00-21

New Forest
2-57-01-38

North Devon
2-47-00-43

Somerset
2-52-00-18

Somerset and Avon
2-52-00-18

South Devon
2-47-00-44


SALMON ISLE OF WIGHT COLOURS MAP POSTCARDS

First version
Variant
Inlets Variant

2-59-00-06

2-59-00-06

2-59-00-06

2-59-00-07

2-59-00-07

2-59-00-07

2-59-00-08

2-59-00-08

2-59-00-08

2-59-00-09

2-59-00-09

2-59-00-09

MISCELLANEOUS SALMON MAP POSTCARDS


Isle of Purbeck
2-54-00-27

Hadrian's Wall
2-02-07-10

The Festiniog Railway
2-11-12-09

The Festiniog Railway
1-11-12-09

Foxlease Estate
1-00-04-05

Dartmouth
5-02-36-86

Tarka Country (North Devon)
2-47-00-48

Isle of Wight
1-59-17-06

Isle of Wight
1-59-04-02

Isle of Man
1-07-00-04

Cornwall
5-02-11-99

Isle of Man
1-07-00-14

River Dart
2-49-02-21


BEYOND SALMON

Since the end of the Salmon publications in 2017, two (so far) of the maps have re-emerged by other publishers. The two below are printed by Fernhill Wholesale using the logo above and have been altered from the originals, notably removing M F Peck's signature. The Dorset one has very few alterations and more vivid colours, but the New Forest one has substantial alterations including replacing all the little images. See this Comparison Gallery showing the original and new postcards together.

Dorset
80727-DT9

The New Forest
80727-NF25
In addition, a couple of websites specialising in 'prints' for a while were offering full size prints of some of the M F Peck maps by Salmon and one map in particular stood out as it had never been seen before as a postcard (to my knowledge) and no-one I have been in contact with knows anything about it. It is an M F Peck design with her signature and features 'The Highlands of Scotland'. I do know that shortly before the postcards began to be issued in continental size, Salmon withdrew from doing Scotland map postcards (which is why there are no continental size maps of areas in Scotland), so maybe this was one due to be released in the original series but never was.