Bodleian Libraries: vintage pet postcards

What it is

The Bodleian Libraries are the library system of the University of Oxford, one of the oldest in Europe. On Pinterest they keep a small profile of themed boards, and the newest, created in March 2026, is "Tom Phillips postcards". It holds 75 old photo postcards, all on one theme: people and their pets.

The postcards come from the Tom Phillips collection held at the Bodleian. The board description explains that this is a selection of pet-related postcards; some carry handwritten messages, but most are blank. It also gives the shelfmarks for the main Tom Phillips archive in the library catalog, a nice touch for anyone who wants to dig further.

Why we picked it

It's a rare archive board that wins you over at first glance. Black-and-white and toned photographs, clearly taken in a studio or a backyard, each showing someone with their favorite animal. The pin titles are warm and funny: "Small boy with fluffy cat", "One eared cat", "Throne of kittens", "Parrot on shoulder", "Nurse with black cat", "Girl with sheep", "Tiny dog", "Small child with pet cat in pram".

Photo postcards are their own corner of everyday history. People had portraits printed on postcard stock to send to family, and they put what they loved in the frame, cats and dogs included. A century later the pictures tell you about fashion, hairstyles and interiors, and about how little our love of pets has changed.

The board is small but coherent. You can scroll it in five minutes and keep looking much longer. Every card is a small mystery: who these people were, who they sent the picture to, what the cat was called.

It's also a good example of what big libraries do with their holdings: not just keep them but show them, and not only the grand manuscripts but simple, human things like these. The Bodleian profile has other boards worth a look, on sacred scripts of Ethiopia and Eritrea and on bookbinding.

Where to start

• Open the board and scroll the whole thing; it's short.
• Look for the unusual pets: the parrot on a shoulder, the sheep, the bird on an arm.
• Find the family portraits where the cat is a full member of the group.
• Read the pin titles; they're short and charming.
• Visit the Bodleian's other boards, such as "A CATalog of Cats" with felines from medieval manuscripts.

Who it's for

Anyone who loves cats, dogs or old photographs. Historians of daily life and fashion, illustrators looking for early twentieth-century references for clothes and poses, and anyone who wants a gentle visual break from the news. There's barely any text, and the images speak for themselves.

Quick answers

Whose board is this? The official board of the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.

How many postcards? 75 pins.

Are there messages on the back? According to the board description, some cards have messages, but most are blank.