Video: Spirit of Benny Hill lives on as Bamforth’s relaunches for 21st century

The unmistakable images of sexual awakening and cheeky humour produced by this Yorkshire company are about to leap from the postcard rack onto T-shirts, glassware, pyjamas, fridge magnets and even boxer shorts as they clock up more than a century of stretching sensibilities.

“In this day and age, you need something to cheer you up,” said Bamforth owner Ian Wallace, a fabulously flamboyant gentleman who snapped up the back catalogue 12 years ago.

“The fact is: people love fun. People like to laugh and smile and that’s just as true today as it ever was. This is good clean British fun.”

We’ve all seen them at our seaside resorts, but might not realise the Yorkshire connection. Bamforth & Co, from Holmfirth, first commissioned its staff of four artists to produce smutty cartoon postcards in 1910. To say they were well received is an understatement – by the end of the First World War, 20 million cards were being printed every year.

But the Bamforth name was already well established – the company had been producing family portraits since 1870, before branching out into lantern slides and silent films.

“At one time, Holmfirth could have been Hollywood,” said Mr Wallace. “They could have had the letters spelt out on the hillside – H-O-L-M...

“But the company moved forward when the Government allowed messages to be written on the back of postcards. Bamforth had their own artists and their own studios – at one time they had offices in London, New York, South Africa, Germany, even Australia.

“We believe that over the years, we’ve sold one billion postcards. Now that’s a serious amount of money. And a lot of money for the Royal Mail as well.”

Considering the recurring settings of the postcards – the hospital ward, the golf course, the bedroom and, of course, the beach – it’s staggering to learn that there are at least 45,000 different designs in existence. Archiving them all has proved quite the challenge.

“When I bought the company 12 years ago, I tried to sort the whole thing out,” said Mr Wallace, who was speaking at the launch of the new range of merchandise in Leeds.

“There was no numbering system and there is no complete record of all the images. It was only three years ago I found what I was looking for and could start archiving.

“We’ve scanned 24,500 so far but we don’t know how many there are in total. There could be as many as 60-70,000.”

Although their purpose was only ever to offer a few seconds of laughter in keeping with the holiday spirit, Mr Wallace believes the postcards have an endearing significance in recording British life and tastes.

“Bamforth is social history. Just look at the dress through the years – right from the black and white era, you would see the Suffragettes; then there’s the Rockers in the fifties and fans of The Beatles in the sixties. Bamforth moved with the times, just look at the sideburns.

“They would use the same punchlines from one decade to the next, but change the clothes and add a music poster to better reflect the times.

“They could hardly be called politically correct, but remember that nobody was singled out – they took the mickey out of everyone .. It’s a bit cheeky, a bit Benny Hill. And that’s what it’s all about.”

With text messages and email, the age of the holiday postcard has passed, but Bamforth continues to move forward. The new lines of merchandise are set to be launched and, in typically eccentric fashion, the licensees are treated to a meeting they’ll never forget.

Husband and wife Howard and Melissa, in their smartest swimwear, could have stepped straight out of a classic Bamforth’s postcard as they strut around on a mocked-up beach and pose for pictures.

“We have tremendous brainstorming sessions. These are fantastic characters, fantastic images and now we’re putting them on T-shirts, coasters, pyjamas etc etc.

“Now we’ve got a new licence for our postcards. We’re trying to get the scenes on lottery scratchcards. You have to be over 16, so they can’t offend anyone.

“Bamforth is the best. There were many imitators, but none of them came anywhere near. I think we’re just as much a Yorkshire institution like Betty’s or Associated Dairies.”