Tattered and Lost EPHEMERA: Christmas

Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

12/16/15

A CHRISTMAS CARD from the 1930s

If you don't know about Mr. Roberts from my other site you might enjoy going there and doing a search in the search field. Here is a link to one photo of him with a lovely lady in Yosemite Valley back in the 1920s or early 30s.

In the 1930s Mr. Roberts got married to Lolly and this is a card the happy couple sent out one Christmas.

Click on image to see it larger.
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New book NOW available on Amazon.
Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

This one is for those who love dolls!
Snapshots from the last 100+ years of children and adults with dolls.

Perfect stocking stuffer for the doll collector on your list!

12/11/15

A Tiny Handmade CHRISTMAS CARD for Montez

Another card from Montez Lawton's scrapbook. This is quite small, handmade using construction paper and what appears to be a photo and text cut from a magazine. There is no signature. Perhaps it was made by one of her students.

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And thank you to all who have bought copies of my new book. I hope you enjoy it.

Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

12/10/15

FROM BILL to Montez at Christmas

Bill was, I believe, Montez Lawton's husband; I can't be sure. There are several cards in the scrapbook signed by Bill, though there are more from her mom and dad.

I especially like Bill's signature.

I'm guessing this Hallmark card is from the late 40s to early 50s.

You can see that the front of the card has a plastic window allowing the holly inside to be seen.

Click on image to see it larger.

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12/9/15

A SANTA for Montez Lawton in 1947

Another card from Montez Lawton's scrapbook; a Hallmark card from 1947. I don't think I've ever seen this logo before. Apparently until 1954 the company was known as Hall Brothers, Inc. A brief Hallmark bio follows the card.

Love how the little girl initially wrote her signature in pencil and then inked over it.

Joyce Clyde Hall became captivated by a salesman who stopped by his family's store in 1906 in Norfolk, Nebraska. Driven by the postcard craze of 1903, Hall decided to venture from retail of various products to wholesale of postcards. He moved his business to the larger market of Kansas City. As time went on, Hall became more convinced that greeting cards would become more prominent than postcards. Greeting cards, according to J.C. Hall, represented class, promised discretion and "they were more than a form of communication—they were a social custom.”

By 1915, the company was known as Hall Brothers and sold Valentine's Day and Christmas cards. In 1917, Hall and his brother Rollie "invented" modern wrapping paper when they ran out of traditional colored tissue paper. In 1922, the company expanded throughout the country. The staff grew from 4 to 120 people, and the line increased from holiday cards to include everyday greeting cards.

In 1928, the company adopted the name "Hallmark", after the hallmark symbol used by goldsmiths in London in the 14th century, and began printing the name on the back of every card. In the same year, the company became the first in the greeting card industry to advertise their product nationally. Their first advertisement appeared in Ladies' Home Journal and was written by J.C. Hall himself. In 1931, the Canadian William E. Coutts Company, Ltd., a major card maker, became an affiliate of Hall Brothers, which was Hall Brothers' first international business venture.

In 1944, it adopted its current slogan, "When you care enough to send the very best." It was created by C. E. Goodman, a Hallmark marketing and sales executive, and written on a 3x5 card. The card is on display at the company headquarters. In 1951, Hall sponsored a television program for NBC that gave rise to the Hallmark Hall of Fame, which has won 80 Emmy Awards. Hallmark now has its own cable television channel, the Hallmark Channel which was established in 2001. For a period of about 15 years, Hallmark owned a stake in the Spanish language network Univision.

In 1954, the company name was changed from Hall Brothers to Hallmark. In 1958, William E. Coutts Company, Ltd., was acquired by Hallmark; until the 1990s, Hallmark's Canadian branch was known as "Coutts Hallmark". (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

I stopped buying Hallmark products a long time ago because of their propensity to "copy" ideas from smaller companies. Add in the fact that the local Hallmark store became very religious and I decided I'd go elsewhere for cards. It used to be their cards were about the only ones you could easily find; not anymore. Their artists still turn out some very nice work, I just choose to spend my money elsewhere.
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12/8/15

More from HILDEGARD WOODWARD

The following images are, like yesterday, from a book entitled Christmas: A Book of Stories Old and New published by Charles Scribner's Sons. The illustrator is Hildegard Woodward. These are only a sampling of the black and white illustrations throughout, including spot drawings.

And please take a moment to look at my new book Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls.

12/7/15

Christmas with HILDEGARD WOODWARD and FORGOTTEN DOLLS

The following images are from a book entitled Christmas: A Book of Stories Old and New published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1937. Well, actually I'm not sure when it was published because the copyright page says 1935, but the title page says '37. Perhaps this is a different edition. The anthology was put together by Alice Dalgliesh with illustrations by Hildegard Woodward.

Endsheet

Click on image to see it larger.

Hildegard Woodward was born in Worcester, Massachusetts February 10, 1898. Her parents were Rufus and Stella Woodward. She was educated at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and in Paris. She is the author and illustrator of many children's books, two of which were awarded a Caldecott Honor. In 1948 she was recognized for her illustrations of Roger and the Fox written by Lavinia R. Davis and again in 1950 for The Wild Birthday Cake.

In 1953 Woodward painted a mural on the wall of the Center School cafeteria in Brookfield, Connecticut near her residence in Hawleyville.

She began to lose her sight in the 1960, but didn’t stop painting. When she went blind she developed a method of "painting by touch".

Woodward's art was not restricted to children's books; her portfolio includes numerous works of fiction and humor for adults. Although most noted for her watercolor illustrations, she painted in oil and [6] was a children's portrait artist.

Woodward never married or had children. She died in December 1977 in Connecticut. (Source: Wikipedia)

Frontispiece

___________

New book NOW available on Amazon.
Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

This one is for those who love dolls!

Snapshots from the last 100+ years of children and adults with dolls. Okay, there are a couple of dogs too.

Perfect stocking stuffer for the doll collector on your list!

12/28/13

The SCARLET LETTER

"A" leads the way and "x" marks the spot. Another card that would have the "war on Christmas" nuts foaming at the mouth. Such a simple and lovely greeting, but there's that word "xmas" taunting them. 100 years ago? Not so much.

Click on images to see them larger.

12/27/13

JOYFUL Greetings

If over 100 years ago someone sent you a holiday card which did not say Merry Christmas was there a "war" on Christmas? Of course not. There's just a rabid insane group of people these days who are unwilling to accept anything but a narrow point of view, especially when they see dollar signs as their goal. Sometimes the stupidity so prevalent today makes my head expand to twice its size with an explosion imminent.

So "Joyful Greetings."

Click on images to see it larger.

________________________

New book available on Amazon.
Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

This one is for those who love dolls!

Snapshots from the last 100+ years of children and adults with dolls. Okay, there are a couple of dogs too.

Perfect stocking stuffer!

12/25/13

Merry EPHEMERA CHRISTMAS

Click on images to see them larger.

12/24/13

Before UPS, before FedEx...WELLS FARGO EXPRESS

Click on images to see them larger.

12/23/12

Last minute GIFTS!

Still have a few people to buy for? Can't come up with the perfect gift? Well...I like to be useful, sooooooo...put the kids to work making stuff from cornstarch and food coloring. Let their imaginations run wild. Then wrap up whatever they are and hand them out as people stop by to visit. I promise they won't come back next year.

12/20/12

DON'T FORGET the Napkins!

Apparently Santa is pretty picky about his napkins. I'm mentioning this so you can rush out to get the right napkins for the milk and cookies, or chablis and cheese, or ze pigs in ze blanket, or Svedish meatballs. Remember, presentation is everything. And ummmm...if that's a bowl of eggnog you might want to leave out a cup for the old guy. The idea of him having to pick that up and chug-a-lug is just unpleasant. Now, if that's not eggnog...whatever it is, don't put it out!

(SOURCE: Sunset, December 1968)

12/15/12

Vintage OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS Card

12/14/12

CHRISTMESS GIFT No. 14...

I didn't want you fretting over getting the plastic bag poodle, so I'm giving you other options. All of these come from the Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas 1974 magazine. There's some mighty fine ummmm...well...junk to choose from.

Who wouldn't want to crack alligator nuts?

Yeah, scare the heck out of your favorite kid by sticking Jimy-Jim on their wall. I wonder if it glowed in the dark. Now that would be cool!

This item might have actually worked, but I included it because, well, it's just so doggone odd looking. It takes industrial design to a new level.

I remember these little figures. I hated these little figures. I STILL hate these little annoying figures. And don't get me started on "Love is...."

Pity the home that has one of these.

And just why? WHY? WHY would you send this to anyone?

And simply...a classic.

12/13/12

CHRISTMESS GIFT IDEA No. 13

Still racking your brain for that PERFECT gift? You've come to the right place. Seriously, I doubt there is another place online that gives you three cookie recipes AND PIERRE THE POODLE made from plastic bags. As usual, you get your money's worth here. I will however tell you that I have not made any of these items. I know, you're stunned to think I'd offer up something without first doing extensive testing. You're on your own!