Victorian Christmas Cards, just as today, featured Holly and of course Ivy. In fact Ivy perhaps appeared more frequently. But Oak leaves also featured very strongly. I guess it was the knowledge that The Oak Tree was much revered by our ancestors, in particular the Druids. The Oak along with Mistletoe, which frequently grew on the Oak, had mystical and religious significance for them around the time of the Solstice, so I guess it is no surprise that it was a symbol adopted for Christmas Cards
The card above is from my small collection of Greeting Cards. This one was published by Raphael Tuck and dates circa 1890.
The sentiment of the verse still appropriate today
24th December
(C) David Oakes 2019
Not sure what went wrong….. I wrote this page on the 22nd and scheduled it for the 24th. Whilst it didn’t come up on my page till today, I hear that several followers have seen the post for a couple of days.
So not sure what went wrong and apologies if you have this post twice. 🙂
I gather you are saving stamps as well? 🙂
It takes a scrooge to recognise a scrooge 🙂
Beautiful!
I rather love the style of this one, a good piece of Victorian everyday art 🙂
I love the vintage cards
From these small beginnings the Greetings Card industry has grown.
It’s beautiful.
Little works of art from a past age 🙂
Interesting history of the greeting cards. Thank you for sharing!
I have a small collection of greeting cards that includes a card from 1940 England sent to my grandmother in the U.S.A from her parents who were living in Bamford, near Sheffield at the time. https://wordpress.com/post/genealogy486084264.wordpress.com/89
I know Bamford well….not far from where we are. Cards are a little bit of history
And “Oh come all ye faithful” was a coded carol to raise the Jacobite army against the crown – apparently Merry Christmas David
Happy Christmas to you Scott.. ( Hate to bring politics into it but maybe we could do with another upraising )
Interesting which foliage is considered Christmas season material – depends on the Country, I suppose. Here in Western Canada, ivy and oak are not really common native plants. Spruce and pine – those are some of the plants we think of during the holiday season.
and I guess that gives the spice to the variety of life. Spruce and Pine are also popular here since the Christmas tree became a symbol of Christmas, but in those early days of Greetings Cards, the Tree was still a luxury so the more familiar foliage was to the fore. 🙂
Nice post.