s well as being a great source of old photographs, postcards can also provide an useful insight into the opinions of visitors to our city. A few candid words will quickly betray their thoughts, giving us the objective view of a neutral observer. It is also interesting to study the handwriting, the sentiments and the humour used by folk in decades gone by.

1913: We're playing this Hippodrome!

his 1913 postcard of the Old Hippodrome was proudly sent by someone who was playing there. It appears that they were taking the stage at Coventry's first "proper" theatre while the play The Village Sports was the main attraction, starring Edgar Cooke and Jimmy Russell.

Although this postcard was sent on the 17th January 1913, we can also date the original photograph used by W. H. Smith for the card. Dr. Walford Bodie "The Famous Bloodless Surgeon" was the star, with theatre goers pictured passing huge posters of him on their way in. This, among other acts like "The Cage of Death" and the "Columbia Comedy Trio", mean that this photograph is likely to have been taken between the 4th and 9th of November 1907.

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