If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 744

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

Although it is hard to tell here, this early 1900s unused postcard is embossed.   That means the leaves, and decorative border around the central illustration are raised.  The reverse of the card shows the indentations of the design.  Along the left margin is:  New Year series No. 34.  The card has a divided back.  At the upper right corner, just under the box outlined for a stamp is:  “Corp. E. Nash.”  The left side of the card is identified as Correspondence.  The right side as Address.  No other information is printed on the reverse.  The colored illustration features a cozy house, snow, trees, stream and waterwheel.

 

The front of the card has "A Happy New Year" title.  The divided back dates from 1907/1908 in the United States and indicates that the card was printed, published, and distributed in the early 1900s before 1920.  Other countries had slightly earlier or later dates for divided backs.   Prior to 1907 cards in the United States were not divided and only the name and address of the recipient plus the postage stamp could be place on that side of the card.  Any correspondence had to be written on the picture or front side of the card. 

 

 

 

E. Nash Logos

 

At the bottom left on the front, are two small marks, one is a circle with the letter C, the second is a triangle with the letter N.  These two logos are a second confirmation that the card is one produced by E. Nash.  These logos were used by Nash sometime around 1912-1915. 

 

Holiday greetings cards similar to this were a popular and convenient way to send wishes to friends.  During the golden age of postcards, 1905-1915, stamps were one cent, the cards were mass produced and not expensive.  In addition to cards sent as greetings, many of the cards, like this one, were never sent but instead were kept by collectors. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

https://www.laurelcottagegenealogy.com/?p=6114

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 588

 

 

 

 

 

New Year greeting postcard, ca 1920s

 

Happy New Year 2023!

 

The two unused postcards shared this week are reproductions of undated artwork reprinted by a small local company, Laughing Elephant.  The card above has clocks and a calendar as the featured items, things that are typically associated with the changing of the year.  The design look like late 1920s or possibly early 1930s style.

 

Greeting cards, individually handmade first, then later commercially printed, have been a tradition for centuries.  In the 1400s homemade greetings were sold and exchanged in Europe.  Early German cards were made using woodcuts.  The two most likely holidays to exchange cards were wishes for a happy, prosperous New Year and romantic love cards for Valentine’s Day.  Valentines often had lace filigrees applied to the designs. 

 

Advances in printing provided a way for cards to be reproduced at less cost and in 1840 the Black Penny stamp allowed cards to be mailed rather than hand delivered and increased the popularity of the cards.

 

Sir Henry Cole, of England, created the first commercial Christmas card in 1843.  Finding that his Christmas greeting list had grown longer each year, Cole wanted to reduce the time and effort it took to make individual cards.  He chose three scenes to celebrate Christmas:  a family gathering; the charitable acts of clothing the poor; and feeding the hungry.  He had 1,000 copies of the cards printed in black and white, then hand painted.  After Cole had used all the cards he needed, he sold the rest at 6 pence each.  Thus, began commercial Christmas card.  In those days the cost of 6 pence still made the cards a luxury item that would not have been affordable for working class people. 

 

This second card is similar to the first one in that it has a verse and the wish for a Happy New Year.  It shows a girl sitting on a list of resolutions and paddling with a quill pen, the ink pot floating in the water just ahead of her. 

 

 

New Year greeting postcard, ca 1920-1930s

 

The practice of making promises or resolutions at the beginning of the year also comes to us from centuries ago.  It was a religious activity for the Romans to make promises to their god, Janus, for whom the month of January takes its name.  Medieval knights took “peacock vows” at the end of the Christmas season to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.  There are parallels in many different religions.  The concept is to reflect on self-improvement annually. To offer and seek forgiveness, or to pledge a personal sacrifice as a way to improve one's self. 

 

The diary of Anne Halkett in 1671, includes what we think of as a traditional writing down of New Years’ resolutions.  She lists a number of religious pledges and writes, “I will not offend anymore.”  In 1813 a Boston newspaper published the phrase:  “new year resolution,” that took hold and has been used ever since.  Despite all the good intentions, roughly only 10 to 12 percent of people who make New Years’ resolutions actually keep them.  The others either forget or do not keep track of them.  Some people say they make too many resolutions to keep track of and work on all of them.  Fortunately, when the next new year comes around we have another opportunity to make resolutions if we so choose. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://www.penheaven.com/blog/history-greetings-cards

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/when-did-new-years-resolutions-start

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year%27s_resolution

 

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 484

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Happy New Year, illustrated by Bernhardt Wall, 1910

 

This vintage reproduction postcard also comes from the Laughing Elephant shop.  The card has an illustration by Bernhardt T. Wall who was an American historian and lithographic illustrator.  He was born in 1872 and died in 1956.  Known as the “Postcard King,” Wall designed more than 5,000 comic cards.  Many of his cards had military or patriotic themes and were printed during World War I. 

 

In 1915 Wall visited the western states of Colorado, Nevada and California and much of his work produced after these visits focused on western themes of small towns, Indians, and cowboys. 

 

His postcards were published and distributed by several different companies including Valentine & Sons, Bergman, Barton and Spooner, International Art Co., the Illustrated Postal Card Co., Gibson Art Co., and J.I. Austen.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 279

Father Christmas & child, ca early 1900s

"Hoping you had a Merry Xmas and will have a Happy New Year" the message on this postcard seemed appropriate for the Thursday following Christmas.  The card shared this week was published by E.A. Schwerdtfeger & Co. London F.C. and New York and was printed at their factory in Berlin, Germany.  The card does not have a stamp or cancellation mark but has a message so it may have been hand delivered or included with a gift. The company logo, EAS, is centered on the reverse within a heart shape.  I have estimated the date to be between 1910 and 1915 based on the divided back (1908), the addition of New York for the company (1910), and the way the child is dressed in the picture but it could be a few years later.

E.A. Schwerdtfeger & Co. was established in 1894 and although the Berlin factory suffered severe damage during World War II they reopened and became one of Germany's largest greeting card companies.  Prior to the war in addition to the real photo postcards, like the one above, they also published calendars and glanzbilder or glossy photographs.  Many of the early postcards were hand colored and this card shows some evidence of added color on the fur trim, the pig (upper right), pail, doll, tree ornaments, and the little girl's sash.  It is hard to tell if the colors are as bright as they were originally.  Schwerdtfeger card subjects were most often actresses, children, coronation portraits, and holidays but this company was noted for postcards featuring fashionable women often in exotic costumes.  In 1910 the company expanded with an office in New York.  Later, in 1922, the Mimosa paper manufacturer became a large shareholder and took over the postcard department of the company. 

There are many Christmas details found on the card.  It is almost like a "Where's Waldo" game to see how many one can find.  Father Christmas the traditional English name for Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas is the dominant image.  The original Saint Nicholas, fourth Bishop of Myra, Turkey, was known for his alms-giving and was very generous to the poor, most often secretly.  The Father Christmas on the postcard holds a bell announcing the joy of Christmas and possibly the ringing in of the new year ahead.  He is leaning on a staff or cane representing a shepherd's crook.  At his waist is a doll with a bag of small toys and a bucket.  Another bucket or pail can be seen near his shoulder just below the pig.  A small sailboat is near the pail.  Pails and buckets for water were often in evidence as practical necessities when a tree held burning candles!  The little girl seems entranced by the tree decorated with balls and tinsel. One story about why tinsel was used on Christmas trees told of a poor family who did not have any decorations.  Spiders spun webs that were magically turned into silver and from then on tinsel was hung on the trees.  The ball ornaments might represent fruit, such as oranges, that were in scare supply during the winter and were a traditional Christmas treat.  The candles or lights remind the faithful that Christ was the Light of the World.  There are many more symbols and legends associated with Christmas.  

For additional information, see:

http://www.metropostcard.com/publishers1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Christmas
htttp://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=1491
https://www.brownielocks.com/christmassymbols.html
http://www.achristmastestimony.kingdomdesignministry.com/ch...