Kind Thoughts

More vintage card loveliness! Last week I included a New Year’s postcard in my Christmas card post. Here’s another sweet card for your enjoyment.

The front is heavily embossed vellum, with gold, blue and green tinting on the flowers, bell, leaves, horseshoe, anchor, book, and hands-entwined in hearts.

Enlarged detail to show how it’s stitched together and has a bow tied with embroidery thread – and the “Good Luck” stamp. Inside: “A loving new Year Greeting” from J. Gosling to his Cousin Lizzie.

And the printed message: “Gladness attend you the Season trough / All that is brightest belong to you! / Thoughts of the sweetest, and memories fair, / These be the gifts that your life may share”

Appetite whetted for more New Year cards?

My 2015 New Year’s vintage postcard post.

Two other wonderful vintage New Year’s postcards in this blog post.

A Merry Happy To All

I scored a great Christmas card at SCRAP-SF earlier this year!

Poor turkey, looking forward to his Christmas banquet, aghast to learn HE’S the main course!

This is an unfolded card rather than a postcard, the message on back in gorgeous Art Deco / Nouveau font.

No postmark or other info to date it; I suspect a reprint because it’s in such good shape. The original presumably pre-dates our modern twist on the meaning of “high time”!

… And for next week! A truly vintage New Year’s postcard, mailed on December 31, 1913 from Times Square Station New York.

The back: “If you were only here I would wish you a very very happy New Year.”

I love the gentle directions, complete with fingers pointing, at left reminding one to write the message: “With pen and ink / the things you think / write here” … and at right: “Your Uncle Sam will do the rest / if this good card is well addressed / right here.”

My Christmas vintage postcard blog post from last year

And Christmas the year before! 

And Christmas 2013!

And Christmas 2012!

My 2015 New Year’s vintage postcard post.

Two other wonderful vintage New Year’s postcards in this blog post.

Happy Holidays to you!

Vintage Thanksgiving Postcard

Happy Thanksgiving! As anger swirls and turmoil upsets days and plans, giving thanks and gratitude is one way I focus on what’s important to me. During these hard times I give heartfelt thanks for friends who battle for justice and freedom.

And while I strive with my friends for progress, I value precious pieces of paper that send messages of fellowship from the distant past.

This eternal sentiment in poetic form: “From farm and field come nature’s yield / In the rich autumn weather / From out the scattered walks of life / The household circle meets together.” And at the end: “May you enjoy this Thanksgiving”

The back of the postcard reads: “Dear Little Adah, I received your card and it was very cute. This turkey looks very good, the one on the other side. Love to you all. Arnolda.”

The postmark is from San Jose California, November 25, 1913. The postal cancellation advertises the coming World’s Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, 1915.

Some more vintage Tgiving cards for you! My 2015 post.  My 2014 post. And my 2013 post. 

A Merry Vintage Christmas to Ethel

Herewith two early 1910s Merry Christmas postcards. When I chose them I didn’t notice I must have gotten them from the same collection. Neither has a message nor postmark on the back. The first, from Raphael Tuck’s “The Poinsettia” series:

See the delicately inked “Mamma to Ethel” at bottom corner? And Mamma’s message to Ethel via the inspiring poem by M.B. Whitman: “Keep your face / always / towards the / sunshine, and / the shadows / will fall / behind / you.”

The second, from A.S. Meeker’s Christmas series, copyright 1910 has no poem, but a peaceful winter scene with strongly embossed green holly leaves and red berries, snowfall and icicles, and welcoming stately mansion. And the penciled inscription at bottom: “Papa to Ethel.”

Lucky Ethel!

This is my Christmas vintage postcard blog post from last year.

And from the year before.

And my 2012 post.

Happy Holidays to you!!

A Joyful Easter

Happy Passover and Easter! I don’t have any vintage postcards showing a seder, but am happy to share two wonderful vintage embossed Easter cards from my collection.

A newly hatched chick posing on a gleaming dark gold egg-shaped background wishes us A Joyful Easter. I adore the Art Nouveau typeface and flourishes gorgeously frame the little hen. The postcard was never mailed, and there’s no message on the back.

In this card dated April 17, 1911, a dapper Easter bunny clad in a fancy morning suitjacket and equipped with his umbrella (for April showers) doffs his top hat at the wide-eyed little chick. The gleaming gold egg (we have a theme!) is adorned with a deeply-embossed and finely detailed pansy and lily flower.

The card reads: “Dearest Mother, Hope the bunny brings you many joys on this day. Yours lovingly, Edith.” There’s no stamp or postmark, so Edith probably delivered the card by hand to her mother.

Check out more of my vintage Easter postcards at:

Mad Hens, 2012

Happy Peeps-Day, 2013

Vintage Easter Greetings, 2014

A Merry Vintage Christmas!

You oughta know by now what Holiday Time O’ Year means on my blog! Without further ado, two of my favorite vintage postcards to celebrate Christmas.

In 1905 Ruth from Rhinebeck New York sent this beautiful embossed postcard, a harp adorned with holly and mistletoe, to “Miss Hattie Buck” of Weissport Pennsylvania. Following the instruction printed on the back of the card: “This side is exclusively for the address,” Ruth wrote nothing else.

The second postcard was never sent, so I can’t date it, but it has a timeless message. Our coy beauty in her lovely green gown says: “Christmas Greeting / Could I be there on Christmas Day / What I’d do — you know! / I’d see that I had my way / Under the mistletoe!”

Finally, not nearly as old but equally fabulous, this Christmas stamp issued in 1967 was designed by Howard C. Mildner. The stamp shows part of the oil painting “Madonna and Child with Angels,” by Flemish artist Hans Memling. I’m smitten with the Art Nouveau typeface.

You can see my Christmas vintage postcard blog post from last year here.  And here is my 2012 post.

Happy Holidays to you!!

Vintage Turkey Day Postcards

One of my favorite holiday rituals is pulling out my vintage postcard collection to enjoy the wonderful old cards. Last year at this time I showed you three of my favorite Thanksgiving cards. Time for two more!

I love this type of postcard. where the embossing is the focus of the design. The words “Thanksgiving Greetings” have no color at all; the raised shape of the letters and the shadows thrown have a subtle beauty. And the embossing on the turkey’s feathers is impressive, each feather so carefully drawn and cross-hatched.

The back of the card is so intriguing. On November 24th, 1908, Walter B. of Fremont Nebraska wrote to Miss Anna Okerbloom of Omaha Nebraska: “Dear Friend, What’s the matter? Didn’t you receive my last card or don’t you want to acknowledge it.” We’ve all been there, right? Brave Walter to ask!

A more traditional card, brightly colored, shows a family of turkeys, apparently unaware of their fate – or perhaps Mother is saying farewell to her chicks?

The turkeys’ feathers are slightly embossed. The back of the card isn’t nearly as interesting as the first; it was sent in 1908 to Miss Amethyst Wickham of Utica NY, the message only: “With love from Aunt Katie.”

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!

Vintage Easter Greetings

It’s Easter postcard time again! The Easter bunny (looking more like a dignified Sir Rabbit), and emerging yellow chick wish you “A Happy Easter.” The message on the back, written in pencil in 1912, has faded badly, but the parts I can still read are somber compared to the prettily flowered front. It starts out: “Well Ann, how do you do. We are having a hard time.” The only other part I can read says: “Phil is working himself to death. Your friend, E.”  Yikes!

The next card doesn’t have the bright colors of many vintage postcards; its strength is a wonderful heavily embossed design of a chick with a posy of spring flowers. There’s no message on the back other than the sender’s initials, and the date isn’t legible on the postmark. It has a one-cent Benjamin Franklin stamp, which doesn’t help much with dating because that was the price to mail a postcard for very many years.

The last one, mailed in 1924, has an overtly religious message: “And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre – ‘He is not here but is risen.'” Tiny print under the image at right says “The Women at the Tomb.” On the back is only written “Best Easter wishes from Aunt Sarah.”

Want to see more vintage Easter postcards? Here’s my post “Mad Hens” from 2012. And this is “Happy Peeps-Day” from 2013.

Have a wonderful Easter!

My Christmas Greeting

Digging into my vintage postcard collection to share some Christmas cards with you, I found two wonderful animal-related cards.

Three fluffy kittens bring you “My Christmas Greeting.” Their expressions are mischievous, you know they just messed with the Christmas tree. The half-border is a gold banner with embossed holly leaves and berries. “Vera” of Waterville Maine mailed this postcard to “Miss Mary L. Nutter” of Palermo Maine in 1911. Her handwritten message on the back: “With best wishes for a Merry Xmas, Vera.”

On a rich dark gold background two beautifully-drawn horses wish you “A Bright and Happy Christmas.” Sweet red flowers – they look like anemones to me – bring a festive feel. This card was sent from Lafayette Indiana to Mr. Edwin W. Savoyer (that’s a guess, it’s pretty illegible to me) of Breinigsville Pennsylvania in 1908, with no written message on the back.

Both postcards have one-cent stamps. Which reminds me – buy your forever stamps before the rates go up in January; the postcard rate will go up a penny to .34 (still a great deal in my opinion).

And have a wonderful Christmas or whatever you celebrate!