IN 1870, the first known card bearing an image was posted in France. The world has come a long way since and the tradition of sending postcards has been pushed aside by the wide use of social media.

Salmon, the oldest postcard producer closed its doors last year after 140 years. Perhaps, in every household all over the UK, a postcard or two from years earlier may be found lurking in a drawer.

A friend had come across this one after a house move and thoughtfully passed it on. Crinkle edges surround this real photograph dating from around 1960. The faultless quality provides a view of several long-lost features. Cast your eye towards the top and note Parson and Clerk Rocks – the effects of the elements across the millennia have not yet decapitated him...

READ THE FULL STORY IN FRIDAY’S TEIGNMOUTH POST, JULY 20.