Raphael Tuck Oilette "Houses of Parliament" Postcard Packet – Complete Set of 6 in Original Envelope, Charles E. Flower, Series O.F. 7898

The complete packet, exactly as Raphael Tuck & Sons sold it: all six "Houses of Parliament" postcards from the famous "Oilfacsim" (Oilette) series, still in their original printed packet. The cards are miniature "Oilette" pictures after the original paintings by Charles E. Flower — Tuck's Oilfacsim printing reproduced the raised brush-marks and canvas grain of the oil paintings, and it shows: Big Ben over a street of trams and horse-drawn cabs, the river front from St Thomas' Hospital with coal barges on the Thames, Westminster Hall with the Richard the Lionheart statue, the Embankment, and the Parliament buildings seen across the water with a Thames sailing barge in the foreground. Every card is unused, and the blue-grey packet survives with them — it advertises Tuck's Queen's Dolls' House postcards as "the event of 1924/5," which dates the packet nicely. A complete, as-sold Tuck set like this is far harder to find than the loose cards.

Details
Publisher: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., London, Paris and New York — Art Publishers to their Majesties the King & Queen; printed in England
Series: "Oilfacsim" / Oilette series — "The Houses of Parliament," Series O F. 7898; six in packet
Artist: Charles E. Flower (signed on each card)
Cards (captions as printed):

1. Houses of Parliament. "Big Ben" (portrait view, with tram and horse-drawn traffic)
2. Houses of Parliament. Westminster Hall
3. Houses of Parliament (from across the Thames, sailing barge in foreground)
4. Houses of Parliament. and Embankment (portrait view)
5. Houses of Parliament (street view with figures, policeman and early motor car)
6. Houses of Parliament. from St Thomas' Hospital (with Thames barges)
   Backs: "Tuck's Post Card — Carte Postale," undivided address side ("For Address Only"), each with a printed descriptive paragraph about the Houses of Parliament; Raphael Tuck trade mark stamp box; no writing, no stamps, no postmarks on any card
   Original packet: Printed blue-grey envelope, front and back fully printed, including the Oilette / Oilfacsim advertising and "The Queen's Dolls' House Postcards are the event of 1924/5" — dating the packet to the mid-1920s (per the packet's own advertising)
   Size: 5.5 x 3.75 inches each (per seller)
   Quantity: 6 postcards plus the original packet
   Included: All 6 postcards and the original printed packet shown

Condition
Very good antique condition overall. All six cards are unused and unposted, with bright, rich colour and the textured oil-painting surface intact; corners are sharp with only the lightest wear, and the backs are clean with no writing. The original packet shows honest age: toning and soiling, edge and corner wear, a small tear at the flap area, and light creasing — it is fragile, as these packets always are, but complete and fully legible front and back. Please review all photos, front and back, for the exact condition of each card and the packet.

Pickup and Shipping Information
Local pickup in Saskatoon by arrangement — cash accepted.
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JAY'S MERCANTILE
Recycling the past, one item at a time.
Pacific Heights, Saskatoon, SK