John Beagles

John Beagles (1844 – 8 January 1907) was an English printer and publisher, especially of real photo postcards, through his company, J. Beagles & Co.

The John Beagles logo appearing on cards produced before his death
The logo of J. Beagles & Co. Ltd. used after the firm was incorporated following Beagles' death
A Christmas card produced by Beagles, c. 1905-10[1]
Maude Fealy as "Mercia" on a Beagles card

Early life

John Beagles was born in Whaplode Drove,[2] Lincolnshire, in 1844 to John and Jane Beagles, and christened on 11 June 1844.[3] His father was a "butcher master".[4] In 1861, John Beagles junior was recorded as a "pupil teacher".[5]

J. Beagles & Co.

In the 1891 census, Beagles was recorded as a "photographic publisher" in Nottingham in the household of Thomas William Stevenson, printer, who would later be his executor.[6] Later, he traded as J. Beagles & Co. from Little Britain, London, E.C.

Beagles and his successors produced a wide variety of postcards that included celebrities, stars of stage and screen, topographical and view cards in their Phototint series, and Louis Wain's Matrimonial Cats.[7] The company also published a long series of scenes of London life such as The Telegraph Messenger and The Shoe Black,[8] and humorous cards during the First World War.[9] Often they republished, in postcard form, photographic portraits made by others.[10]

The business continued as J. Beagles & Co. Ltd. after Beagles' death.[11]

Death

Beagles died at his home, 9 Rockley Road, Shepherd's Bush, London, on 8 January 1907. Probate was granted in London to Thomas William Stevenson on an estate of £554.[12]

References
  1. On Christmas Day with keen delight &c. National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  2. John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1901. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  3. John Beagles England Births and Christenings. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  4. John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1861. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  5. John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1861. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  6. John Beagles England and Wales Census, 1891. FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  7. "Beagles, J. & Co. Ltd". postcardmania.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. Smith, J.H.D. (1997) IPM catalogue of picture postcards and year book 1997. Lewes: IPM. p. 139.
  9. Taylor, James. (2016). Pack up your troubles: How humorous postcards helped to win World War I. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-84486-342-6.
  10. J. Beagles & Co (active 1903-). National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  11. The British Trade Journal, Vol. 53 (1915), p. 34.
  12. 1907 Probate Calendar. Retrieved 25 February 2017.

Further reading
  • Byatt, Anthony. (1978) Picture postcards and their publishers: An illustrated account identifying Britain's major postcard publishers 1894 to 1939 and the great variety of cards they issued. Malvern: Golden Age Postcard Books. ISBN 095062120X
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