If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 707

 

 

 

Easter greeting, ca early 1900s

[reproduction of illustration by Laughing Elephant]

 

Happy Easter!  This week's postcard features an early 1900s Vintage illustration reproduced by a local printing company, Laughing Elephant, that specializes in preserving and reproducing vintage cards, books, and posters.   When they are able to identify the date and/or illustrator they will credit it on the reverse of the card.  Unfortunately, this particular illustration did not have the name of the artist included nor the date.  Since this is the Thursday before Easter, I thought I would share the card even if not much information about it is available.  

 

Rabbits and eggs are frequent symbols used on Easter greetings.   Easter rabbits, bunnies or hares sometimes dressed in clothes and bringing Easter eggs, originated among German Lutherans where the Easter Hare played the role of judging whether children were good or disobedient.  Part of the legend has the rabbit carrying colored eggs, candy, and sometimes toys in its basket and giving these items to the children who had been good.  A role similar to that of Santa Claus at Christmastime.  The egg symbolized the tomb of Jesus and the resurrection.  Also, on this card are Forget-me-nots, the tiny blue flowers in the foreground.   These flowers are not typically associated with Easter but are a remembrance of those loved ones who have passed away. 

 

The rabbits on this card are decorating a giant egg which in turn reminded me of the beautifully decorated eggs made in Croatia, Poland and Ukraine.   The intricate designs and colors on those decorated eggs originated in pagan times and later transitioned to the Christian Easter egg. The process is called pisanica (Croatia), pisanka (Poland), and pysankarstvo or pysanky (Ukraine), meaning "writing" since a stylus is used to alternately apply wax-resist and dyes to color the eggs.   

 

There are a number of design patterns available online providing directions on how to create the decorations.  The designs are primarily associated with blessings, good wishes, and spiritual meanings and include things such as, plant life, animals, symbols, Christian symbols, and a specific design.  One specific design is called a 40-triangle egg which depicts the concept of fullness of life.  Bands around the eggs called Eternity bands, symbolize the cycles of life and existence.  Colors are used to represent purity (white), wisdom (yellow), happiness (red), sky, health and peace (blue), Spring, renewal and fertility (green), and darkness and death (black).  

 

 

Traditional Ukrainian folk designs on Easter eggs [image from:  Wikipedia]

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_decorating_in_Slavic_culture#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny

https://ukrainianeggcessories.com/pages/pysanky-printable-freebies

https://time.com/6166140/pysanka-ukraine-easter-egg-history/

https://laughingelephant.com/

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 652

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Greeting

 

Happy Easter!  The postcard shared this week has a reproduced vintage illustration with a little poem.  The card was purchased from Laughing Elephant.com the small local print shop that specializes in reproducing vintage cards, books, and posters.  The illustrator is not identified, nor is an approximate date provided.  The original probably dates from the early 1900s.

 

Notice the pussy-willows at the right side of the card.  I wondered if there was a legend or story associated with them and Easter

 

In Poland there is a tradition of using pussy-willow branches with palm branches on Palm Sunday.  A Polish legend has Jesus visiting a forest in late winter, just before spring.  He commands his angels to gather pussy-willows with soft cotton buds as the first sign of spring.

 

On Easter they are a symbol of the resurrection, as these fluffy white buds sprout from a dry twig, like the flower of life. 

 

The day after Easter is known as Dyngus Day.  It is an historically Polish-American celebration of the end of 40 days of Lenten sacrifice.  There are games, music, and food.  Water and pussy-willows are used in a game of playful taps.  Pouring water was an ancient spring rite of cleansing and purification as is the complimentary practice of switching with pussy-willow branches that date back to pre-Christian times in Slavic countries. 

 

There is also a little story about kittens who fell into a raging river while chasing butterflies.  The mother cat sits on the bank pleading for help for her drowning kittens.  The willows hear her mournful cries and let down their branches for the kittens to cling to the branches and are safely brought back to shore.  Every spring, from that day on, the willows put forth fur-like buds where the tiny kittens once clung.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://www.wbfo.org/arts-culture/2013-03-22/polish-legend-of-the-pussy-willow-palm-sunday

https://www.dyngusday.com/our-story 

https://laughingelephant.com/

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 602

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage Easter Greeting, ca early 1900s

[Laughing Elephant reproduction]

 

Happy Easter!  With Easter approaching in a few days, I thought I would share theses two reproductions of early 1900s vintage postcards.  The cards came from a small local company, Laughing Elephant, that specializes in preserving and reproducing vintage illustrations, books, posters, and artwork.

 

Both cards feature the Easter Bunny, Easter Rabbit, or Easter Hare of folklore.  Much like naughty or nice list made by Santa Claus, the German Lutheran Easter Hare acted as a judge evaluating the behavior children at the beginning of the Easter season.  The Hare often carried a basket with colored eggs, candy, and sometimes toys to the homes of children.  This legend was first mentioned as a tradition in 1682.  Hares or rabbits were a popular motif in medieval church art.  They are found in some illuminated manuscripts and paintings associated with the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child.  Also when depicted as a threesome they may be associated with the Holy Trinity in something known as the three hare motif.

 

Eggs have been used as fertility symbols since antiquity.  As early as the 1^st century AD the egg became an Easter symbol.  Since eggs were prohibited during Lent, a common practice was to hand out eggs to children as treats, or sometimes children would go house to house begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent.  

 

 

 

Vintage Easter Greeting postcard, ca early 1900s

[Laughing Elephant reproduction]

 

Two other symbols connected with Easter can be seen on this card.  The frog, who burrowed under mud during the winter and re-emerged at Spring, represented the Resurrection.  And, the honey bee as an emblem of Christ, of his forgiveness through the sweetness of honey, justice through its sting, and the Christian virtue because of the way the worker bees behave toward their queen.  A traditional Easter candle is made of beeswax.

 

For additional information,  see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/easter-symbols

https://abiggerworldyet.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/maybe-it-should...

http://websites.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/B/bee.html

https://laughingelephant.com/

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 551

 

 

 

 

 

The three postcards shared this week have vintage reproductions from the early 1900s.  Since Easter is this coming Sunday, it seemed an appropriate time to share the cards.  The cards were all purchased from a local shop, Laughing Elephant, that specializes in reproducing Victorian cards, books and artwork as posters.  None of the artists are identified on these cards.

 

 

Since the 16^th century the of wearing new clothes at Eastern has been an English tradition.  An Easter bonnet or Christian head covering was part of the new clothes and was supposed to represent the renewal of the year and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption.  Old hats that had been refurbished were also acceptable as Easter bonnets. 

 

 

 

A notion that ill luck would befall someone who did not wear something new at Easter was believed in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  Some common designs for the bonnets included themes of Spring, bunnies, flowers, and eggs.  More modern bonnets for girls are usually white with a wide brim and pastel colored ribbon ties and bows.  Often such a bonnet would match a special dress.  In the U.K. both boys and girls would decorate bonnets or hats.  Easter bonnet decorating competitions for children were held until the 1990s.  There are even decorating kits for such a purpose.  Today the hats and decorations are purchased especially as Easter bonnets.

 Happy Easter!

 

For more information, see: 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_bonnet

 https://laughingelephant.com/

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 446

El Divino Pastor (fragment) by Murillo, 1660

Since Easter is this coming Sunday it seemed a good time to share this unused postcard showing a fragment of the painting titled “El Divino Pastor” or “The Good Shepherd” by the Spanish artist, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682).  The card is identified as a product of Ediciones Barsal, Barcelona and has the number 11 at the lower left corner of the reverse. 

The original painting is displayed at the Prado National Museum in Madrid, Spain.  The Spanish Baroque painter, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, is best known for his religious pieces but also produced a number of paintings of women and children that depicted everyday life of his era.  The paintings include realistic portraits of flower girls, street urchins, and beggars that provide a record of what life was like.  

The original oil painting of Jesus as the shepherd boy with a lamb measures 63” X 48” (161.00 cm X 123.00 cm) and is dated 1660.  Murillo was not only a successful religious painter, his gift for painting children, especially the Infant Christ and the Infant Saint John the Baptist, made his works sought after by both Spanish and foreign collectors.  Many of his works are still among the most widely produced.  In the painting on the card he provides a glimpse into everyday life with a child and animal and at the same time illustrates the sacred subject, the Lamb of God.  

Murillo was the youngest of 14 children.  He was about 10 years old when both his parents died and he became a ward of his sister’s husband, Juan Agustin Lagares.  Instead of using his father’s surname he used the surname of his maternal grandmother, Elvira Murillo.    He was not the only artist in his extended family and began his studies with a relative, Juan del Castillo.  His uncle, Antonio Perez was also a painter. Murillo had many pupils and followers and at one time his work was better known than any other Spanish artist.  Public collections of his works can be found in several different museums including the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain; the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia; Timken Museum of Art in San Diego, California; and the Krannert Art Museum in Champaign, Illinois as well as others.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomé_Estaban_Murillo
https://www.theartstory.org/murillo-bartolome-esteban/artworks/