Post Card Views - History of Francis Frith and his business.

Judges Postcards - History
NOTE: The colour of the text below indicates who should be acknowledged: i.e. Andrew Reynolds or Bernard and Jan Wolford
1872	Fred Judge was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, in the North of England. His initial career was in engineering, but his real interest was in photography.
1902	Fred Judge moved to Hastings, Sussex where he purchased and the Booker's Photographic Business: Landscaper photographer, Lanternist Photographic Materials Dealer.
1903	Fred and his younger brother, Thomas Winn Judge (working in the back office) began to produce commercial postcards in 1903. Printing Out Paper was used for early Judges postcards, the prints developing in the sun in shop windows
1906	More consistent results were achieved from 1906 onwards when the company acquired an exposing machine. It was then that the numbering of the main series of postcards began. The main series of sepia and black & white cards are numbered from 50 to 31782.
1908	Fred Judge became a keen member of the local photographic society. By 1908, he had been awarded over 100 Medals and Diplomas in photographic exhibitions.
1915	Fred Judge became FRPS (Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society).
1927	The present Judges' factory was built. It has since been extended but the Italianate facade remains as a landmark on the A259 coast road. A photograph of the factory appears on the Judges web site.
1927	The present Judges' factory was built. It has since been extended but the Italianate facade remains as a landmark on the A259 coast road. A photograph of the factory appears on the Judges web site.
1950	Fred Judge died
late- 1950s	From the late 1950s, Judges began to produce colour cards. These cards are numbered from C1 to at least C29312.
1984	Judges' business was acquired by its present owners.
Acknowledgement (by colour of text) 1. An article by Andrew Reynolds in Picture Postcard Monthly, Nov 2003, pp.24-26. '100 years of Judges Postcards.' This article includes illustrations of Judges' postcards and gives fuller details of the card numbering. 2. The Judges web site, a site set up by Bernard and Jan Wolford who took over the Judges business in 1984.

Judges Postcards - Photographers
1903-1921
	Fred Judge
1921-1927
	Fred Judge + Oliver Butler
1927-1930
	Oliver Butler
1930-1932
	Oliver Butler + Norman Button
1932-1939
	Oliver Butler + Norman Button + Ernest Bartholemew
Acknowledgement. Andrew Reynolds

Judges Postcards - Dates

The following may be helpful in dating Judges' postcards. The main series reached:

- No. 7400 in 1921

- No. 9347 in 1927

- No. 12971 in 1930

- No. 15323 in 1932.

- No. 22430 in 1939.

Andrew Reynolds. Andrew and his wife, Sonya, have produced several lists of Judges cards. For further details of these lists and how to join the JUDGES POSTCARD STUDY GROUP please see Andrew's Reynolds Collectors' World web site.

Acknowledgement. Andrew Reynolds

Fred Judge - Artist

Thank you to Jan Kelley, now living in Brussels, for sending the following message which suggests that Fred Judge may have been an amateur artist as well as being a photographer.

Jan wrote:

Sketches

"I have two pencil sketches that belonged to my parents. Both are signed: 'Fred Judge F.R.P.S.'

- One is of St Paul's from Fleet Street.

- The other titled 'A London Policeman' (in Piccadilly Circus).

My parents bought them from the previous owner of the house they bought in 1939, and they were old even then. They have been in the family ever since.

It seems to me that my drawings must be originals, just sketches he did when he was in London, but not for commercial use, since he does not seem to have had any professional activity around drawing."

Jan Kelley, Brussels, Belgium: April 2, 2007

Question 1

Reply 1

K Norris

Western Australia

Thank you to K Norris, Western Australia who wrote:

"I have a pencil sketch labelled ‘Trafalgar Square London’ and signed Fred Judge FRPS. It was given to me by my great-aunt in the 1960s. I don’t think there is a date on the back of it and certainly there’s no date on the sketch itself.

The sketch, which is about 15cms by 21cms, has Nelson’s Column in the centre, a (vintage?) car, several men of varying class, background buildings and a bit of another edifice with tall pillars and a curved section above."

K Norris, Western Australia: July 20, 2007

Question 1

Reply 2

Adrian Clegg

Thank you to Adrian Clegg who wrote:

Sketches of North Wales

"I have recently acquired two sketchings (from a car boot stall) 24 x 16.5 cm. They are of the North Wales coastal town of Aberdaron.

- One is entitled 'Whistling Sands Nr Aberdaron'. It is a coastal scene

- The other is simply entitled 'Aberdaron'. It shows the town, with the sea and cliffs in the background.

They are beautifully sketched with very fine detail, and are both signed JUDGES in capital letters. One more point... the 'A' in the Aberdaron is not a capital letter as you would expect, but rather, an enlarged 'a'.

Adrian Clegg: August 4, 2010

Question 1

Reply 3

Peter Stubbs

Edinburgh

Further Information

There is a good Wikipedia page on Judge's Postcards. It gives historical information about Fred Judge and his postcards. It refers to the postcard numbering system used by Judges, and ends with a number of references including links to:

- lists of Judges Postcards

- list of Postcard Clubs, one being the Judges Postcard Study Group

The Wikipedia page mentions that :

"by 1921, Fred Judge was using his artistic talents to produce packs of 4 or 6 lithographic sketch versions of certain cards."

Peter Stubbs: Edinburgh, August 9, 2010

Question 1

Reply 4

Jeff Miller

Victoria, Australia

Thank you to Jeff Miller, another contributor from Australia who has found some of Fred Judge 's sketches.

Jeff wrote:

Sketches

"I just found two sketches signed JUDGES (both framed). They measure approx 27cm wide x 19cm high and are titled:

- Cley Mill and

- Blakeney Quay.

Both are in good condition. The back of the frames has been re-taped a couple of times. The total lack of any evidence of any modern technology in either sketch is very evident.

Jeff Miller, Victoria, Australia: 2 March 2017 (2 emails)

Fred Judge - Artist

Question 2

Robert Antel, Tasmania, Australia writes:

"I am just listing on eBay a pack of 3 Judges postcards. The pack originally had 4, but unfortunately 1 is missing.

These cards are pencil sketches signed "F.J.", so it does look like he also produced cards from his sketches. They are very fine and are numbered S.2469, S.2474, & S.9845.

Do you know what decade they originate from?"

Robert Antel, Tasmania: October 11, 2007

I don't know the answer to Robert's question. If you can help to answer it, please e-mail me and I'll pass on your message to him.

Thank you. - Peter Stubbs: October 11, 2007