In our collection, we have a number of postcards documenting local areas of interest, people, and business. The postcards have been postmarked, unused, and sometimes unsent. As we approach the upcoming holidays, we perused our collection for Christmas postcards made and printed in Germany. We found a few we wanted to share.
This unsent postcard (HOLIDAY PC008) is featuring Mary, Jesus, and Joseph backed by a brilliant gold star. The colors are muted, but bold. We have dated it around 1900-1920.
Postmarked December 22, 1914 from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This avian-inspired postcard (HOLIDAY PC011) featured bells ringing with a message of “A Merry Christmas. A sweet note from Lu to a Mrs. Howard Robinson is handwritten on the back of the postcard.
This postcard (HOLIDAY PC014) depicts a wintery scene with a deer in the foreground. It is a simple image featuring shade of white, brown, blue, and black. It is postmarked Davenport, Iowa on December 25, 1919. The postcard is from “Joe” to his “Dear Friend Scotty” or rather a Mr. W.D. Scott of Amboy, Illinois.
This festive musical postcard (HOLIDAY PC013) does not state that it was printed in Germany. But from our translation of “Herzliche Neujahrs Gluckwunsche”, this greeting is “Happy New Years Congratulations” in German. The stamp and postmark are from Germany. It is addressed to August Roth at 1203 West 16th Street in Davenport from Grandmother. This 1930 greeting card is decorated with a group of four musicians playing in an outdoors snowy scene.
We hope these postcards spread the joy of the season to you and yours. To learn more about these postcards and more, check out our Archive & Manuscript Catalog.
(posted by Kathryn)
