Percival Snelling

Printer, stationer and postcard producer, Crawley. In 1909 Snelling was the proprietor of a small printing works at 44 High Street, Crawley, but by 1911 he had become a stationer at 44 High Street, moving to 7 Brighton Road by 1915, where he remained until at least 1927. In 1930 his address was 4 High Street.

Snelling started selling halftone cards of Crawley by 1909. Some of the cards had black and white pictures, and others coloured. The captions were printed in capitals at the base of the pictures, which lacked borders. Mrs Helen Newbery, who may have used the same printer as Snelling, sold somewhat similar cards. Michael Goldsmith ("Postcard publishers in Crawley and district - an introduction", 1986, Wealden Postcard Club Factsheet 6) reports that Snelling also issued real photographic cards, but gives no further details.

Snelling was born at Ifield near Crawley in 1882, and was a son of Oliver Snelling, a musician (born at Horley in Surrey in 1841) and Kate Snelling (formerly Skinner, born at Ifield in about 1852). Following their marriage in 1876, Kate and Oliver raised nine children including Percival. When the 1911 census was held, Percival was unmarried and still living with his parents at 100 Ifield Road, Crawley. All his brothers and sisters had seemingly left home.

Snelling died at Worthing in 1950, aged 68.

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