Memorial Day back when it was Decoration Day

Postmarked May 28, 1913.

At 31, future president James Garfield
became a brigadier general in the
Union Army, then, a major general
of volunteers at age 33.

I thought I had posted Memorial Day postcards from the archive in the past. And had planned to link to them, but a search through the blog did not turn up a single one. Odd.

So, I scanned in a batch. As the headline notes, Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, a public tribute to those who had fought in America's Civil War. My holiday postcard collection contains images from before 1919, so it reflects this initial celebration, which later morphed into a day to acknowledge all those who fought in our country's wars.

I'd like to think that I do not believe in war. I've marched against war on many occasions, and been arrested during a few of them. But even I know that there are times when war has been necessary, and that whether I back a war or not, I do respect those who have served … including two of my brothers, my father, quite a few of my uncles, and others in the past.

Postmarked Wooster, OH, May 29, 1909. Publisher unknown.

 

Two postcards by artist Ellen Clapsaddle (above) that were published by the International Art Publishing Co. of New York and Berlin. Both were printed in Germany. The one on the left was never mailed; the one on the right is postmarked Cleveland, May 27, 1912.

Published by Raphael Tuck & Sons, Decoration Day series No. 107. 

Published by Cincinnati's Gibson Art Co.

A Porkopolis St. Pat's

Cincinnati picked up the nickname "Porkopolis" back in the 19th century when this river city was a center of the pork packing industry. The name stuck, even long after the last pig ran through our streets. Pigs also have been a long-time symbol of abundance and prosperity. So, after spotting this trio of delightful St. Patrick's Day postcards in the archive (the physical archive, not the electronic one), I just had to share them; all were published by London's Raphael Tuck and Sons in its St. Patrick's Day Post Cards series No. 106.

  

The writing's on the front of the postcard,
because it was published
when addresses only were allowed
on the back, a convention
that was about to change.
It's postmarked March 17, 1907
from Philadelphia, PA, and was sent
to Mrs. E. Lapp, Wyoming, DE. 

Postmarked March 16, 1908, but
the city name has faded. It was sent to
Mr. Edward Bruner, Holton, IN.

Postmarked Cincinnati, March 17, 1909,
 and sent to Miss Georgie Martin,
3308 Gilbert Ave., City.

Ohhh, baby, a New Year

I gathered together some of my favorite early 20th century babies welcoming in the New Year from the archive to share here. Enjoy … and Happy New Year!

Love struck

Okay, between the Tweeting, Facebooking, writing about art, designing "Love Me Tender," my first line of Valentine cards, hunting for paper for two new series of collages, and fighting a cold given to me by my dear husband, well, I've neglecting the blog.

Hoping to remedy that by taking a break from one of my writing gigs. Meanwhile, for those of you NOT on Facebook, here's a peek at the Valentine cards that I have been posting there for the past few weeks, all are available at my studio, and a selection of them can be found at MiCA 12/v, NVISION, and Redtree. And, later this week, at the Bonbonerie.

Adapted from a circa 1920s fold-over Valentine made in the U.S.A.
The publisher and artist are not IDed. I found 5 cards in what, apparently, was
a series during my only trip to the Burlington Antique Show last year.

The illustration is adapted from a 1905 postcard, published
by Raphael Tuck & Sons, London.  It was not mailed, but is addressed
to Mr. John Lauder, Brad St., Beachmont, Mass.  The original featured
the man as a pear, but with serious tweaking, I turned him into an apple.

llustration adapted from a postcard, circa 1910, that was printed in Bavaria.
 The publisher and artist are not identified, and it was not mailed.
 But the art has the softness, and sweetness of an Ellen Clapsaddle illustration. 
We're up in the air on whether the child is a boy or a girl. 
The message on its back? Simply: “Paul Baker from Mary B.”

Illustration adapted from a greeting card, circa 1920s,
that was die-cut. The back of the card shows
the boy's back and the back of the tag, which
reads "Please be mine." The publisher and artist
are not identified but it has the unmistakable style
of a WhitneyMade card.

This sly guy was a dense, black & white engraving from
"Good Things for Little Ones," an antique children's anthology
 of stories, poems, illustrations. It took about 20 hours of work
to "open up" the image - line by line, pixel by pixel -
and to create the final colorization.

The illustration is adapted from a 1922 WhitneyMade postcard,
published by the George Whitney Co. of Worcester, Mass.
It's postmarked Bainbridge, Ohio, 6 a.m., Feb. 14, and was sent
by Catherine Jenkins of Cynthiana, Ohio, to Mr. West, sans a message
other than “Valentine Greetings” on the front of the card.
The artist is not identified. At one point, Whitney was among
the largest publishers of Valentines, even so, it rarely identified its artists.

Illustration adapted from a 1909 postcard published
 by H.W. Taggart Co. (NY). The card was never used.
I've created a 2nd version: two MALE hearts
(both sporting an oh-so-trendy 'stache). 

The illustration is adapted from an antique trade card
advertising the handsome Winsome Banner stove made
by the Baxter Stove Co. of Mansfield, Ohio. As with the cupid card,
I spent a few days at the computer
"opening up" the engraving so that the stove's wonderful decorative details
would pop. And, of course, had to add that blazing fire.
While researching the stove and company, I discovered
 that Mansfield was the stove capital of America 'til the 1970s.
It was home to Tappan & Westinghouse, as well as other manufacturers.

When creating the web image for the "Love Has Gone to My Head" cards,
I put the two cards together, and, voila!, a new idea was born.
Why not put the two hearts together in one other card?
The illustration is adapted from a postcard that is
postmarked West Alexandria, Ohio, Aug 22, 1910.
 It was sent to Alice Tester of Rockford, Ohio, by her niece Alma Dorman
with a message asking her aunt to visit.
A Valentine sent in August? No. On the original, the female heart
is frowning deeply, with big tears running down her cheeks,
and the text reads: "Do you sometimes think of poor little me."

Illustration adapted from an antique chromolithograph
of D.M. Ferry & Co.'s Sweet Pea "Miss Blanche Ferry,"
which the California company introduced in 1889. 

Boo!

It's close to the witching hour ... so a gallery of Halloween postcards from the vintage vault seemed appropro. Halloween's become the Holy Grail of collectibles during the past decade. I don't have many Halloween postcards - they're generally beyond my pocketbook - but over time, I've nabbed a few. At reasonable prices, too (that is, less than $25 each). Here's a selection of antique ones, meaning they are more than 100 years old.

A classic by artist Ellen Clapsaddle.
 Published by International Art Publ Co.,
printed in Germany, and postmarked
1910 from Kansas City, MO.

A striking graphic published by Cincinnati's
Gibson Art Co. Not mailed, so no postmark.

Postcard by artist H.B. Griggs, whose initials are at bottom left.
I found a number by him a few years ago in an antique shop
in Louisville, Ky., and snapped them all up. It was not mailed,
but is circa 1910 and was published by L & E (series2262).

The two postcards above were published by England's
Raphael Tuck & Sons in its "Hallowe'en" series No. 188.
The top one wasn't mailed, but the bottom card
sports an Oct. 31, 1912 postmark. 

One of the beautiful women that publisher John Winsch
was noted for. Generally, the cards were illustrated by
artist Samuel L. Schmucker. This looks like his work, but
isn't signed, so I'm not sure. It wasn't mailed, 
but is dated 1912 on the front.

Not a clue on this one. Not mailed,
and the message on back is simply
 the name Eland and "from father."
But love the owl! 

Smile! It's St. Patrick's Day ,,,

Top o' the morning. At it is the top of the morning. I slept in after staying up 'til the wee hours of the morning messing around with a design project.

It's gray and dreary here in Cincinnati, and since there's a bit of Irish in me - on my mom's side of the family - I thought I'd brighten the day with St. Patrick's Day postcards from the archive. I skipped the landscapes in favor of those with people, and two sets from specific series and artists.

When I began collecting pre-WWI holiday postcards, I spent too much on them. The card above, published in 1912 by Boston's A.M. Davis Co. as part of its series 705, is a good example of what I mean. I paid a whopping $15 for it at a flea market. I knew it was too much, but didn't have many St. Pat's then and wasn't seeing many, so I pounced. 

Back then, I also tended to buy cards that were not in great shape (note the postmark ink coming through to the front of the card). I figured they could be fixed up in Photoshop when I wanted to make reproductions, which was the plan. But as I got deeper into collecting, I yearned for cards in better condition. That's when my master's in library science came in handy, because as I researched publishers and artists, it became obvious I was overpaying. Happily, it was a lesson learned early on.

The cards here are a mix of mint, good and poor. I'll admit, I still fall for crummy ones when there is an image I can't resist.

The cards above were all published by Boston's International Art Publishing, and were drawn by Ellen Clapsaddle. She was one of their premiere artists. Her work - which is copyright free - is widely reproduced, popping up on everything from mugs to tote bags. The most collectible of the cards are those with her signature on the front (the two at the top).    

This sweet series was published by England's Raphael Tuck and Sons as part of its St. Patrick's Day series No. 106. Pigs have always been considered lucky in Europe. They are a sign of prosperity, and appear on many St. Pat's cards, as well as New Year's cards. Of course, the requisite good luck charm, the four-leaf clover, is ever present.

The cards teach a bit about the evolution of postcards. The one on the top left (postmarked 1907) with all the writing on it has what's known as an "undivided" back. Postal regulations specified that the address was the only thing that could be written on the back. Then, the rules changed and backs were divided - like now - to allow an address and a message. The other two cards (postmarked 1908 and 1909) represent that change.

One last card that is so goofy I couldn't resist adding it ...