Oyster Gallery

Opening of the Colchester Oyster Fishery

Ceremonial scene at the opening of the annual Colchester Oyster Fishery. On the first Friday of September the Mayor of Colchester, the Town Clerk, and the Town Sergeant go out on an oyster dredger into the Pyefleet Channel of the Colne estuary off Mersea Island, in full civic regalia. The Mayor dredges and consumes the first oyster of the season. He and his guests then proceed to an oyster lunch to celebrate the opening of the fishery. The ceremony dates back to medieval times

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10410355

Oyster plate from the Rutherford B. Hayes White House service

1070370 Oyster plate from the Rutherford B. Hayes White House service, designed 1879 (porcelain & enamel) by Davis, Theodore Russell (1840-94); Dallas Museum of Art, Texas, USA; the Charles R. Masling and John E. Furen Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Rubin, The Arthur A. Everts Co. and Arthur and Marie Berger by exchange; American, out of copyright

© the Charles R. Masling and John E. Furen Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Rubin, The Arthur A. Everts Co., and Arthur and Marie Berger by exchange / Bridgeman Images

Mercedes Gleitze (1900-1981) - British professional swimmer

Mercedes Gleitze (1900-1981) - British professional swimmer. She was the first person to swim the Straits of Gibraltar and the first British woman to swim the English Channel. All the funds from the sale of this specific postcard were donated to the Mercedes Gleitze Fund for Destitute Men and Women to establish a home for those in poverty. The name of Mercedes Gleitze was used to market Rolex's new waterproof case, the "Oyster". Date: circa 1930

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection