A routine mail delivery at the Swansea Building Society took an unexpected turn last Friday when staff discovered a postcard dating back over 120 years nestled amongst modern-day financial correspondence, Sky News reports.
The postcard, addressed to Miss Lydia Davies, predates the building society’s own establishment by decades, sending ripples of excitement through the office and social media.
“It’s a little bit spooky. It feels like an antique. We want to make sure it gets to the right place, be it the local archive, or if possible Lydia’s surviving family,” said Henry Darby, the society’s marketing and communications officer.
The postcard, featuring a black and white image of Edwin Henry Landseer’s painting “The Challenge,” is believed to have been sent by a man named Ewart from Fishguard, Pembrokeshire in August 1903. It references two others named Gilbert and John and expresses regret for not being able to obtain a pair of unspecified items.
The discovery has sparked a flurry of interest online. A family historian, after seeing the postcard on the building society’s Facebook page, identified a 14-year-old Lydia Davies residing at 11 Cradock Street in the 1901 census.
A relative, believed to be Miss Davies’ great niece, has also contacted the building society, adding to the intrigue surrounding the postcard’s journey.
How the postcard, with its 125-year-old King Edward VII stamp, found its way back into the Royal Mail system remains a mystery. Theories range from a house clearance to a forgotten keepsake.
A Royal Mail spokesperson confirmed the postcard likely “was put back into [its] system rather than being lost in the post for over a century.”
The Swansea Building Society has vowed to reunite the postcard with its rightful owner, adding a captivating chapter to the city’s history.
