When I first saw this postcard of RMS Oceanic II I thought it was unusual and I am sure you will see why…
How many postcards have you seen that are handpainted and not printed?! Yes, this is actually a water colour of RMS Oceanic II with a postcard back!
But you must read the back too! Here it is:

‘Thank you very much for passes for Baltic. Unfortunately I got them too late. Am so sorry you had all the trouble getting them.’
Yours sincerely, H Houghton
Addressee: C E Faulkner, 19 Everton Road, Birkdale, Southport.
Postmark: Birkenhead August 26, 1904.

It’s a great one isn’t it?! We are back in 1904.. that summer was the triumphant maiden voyage of RMS Baltic II, commanded by E J Smith. The exact date was June 29, 1904 and this postcard was sent about eight weeks later. Baltic, then the largest liner in the world, was big news so as with her sisters White Star opened the ship to a public inspection before she sailed. Most likely the passes were for one of the open days.(I think there was more than one)
But then the mystery starts. Who was H Houghton? Did they paint the image? The initials in the bottom right corner appear to read HP but perhaps are HH. And what about C E Faulkner? Was he one of the officers aboard the new White Star flagship or perhaps he worked at James Street, the company head office?
I am doing some ‘digging’ to see what I can uncover. Meantime, if you have time, or inclination, and you come across/know more, I would love to hear from you. Please contact me at: Ben@whitestarbuffs.co.uk. I will reply as promptly as possible and will update the website with more.