Historic Treasure of the Week - December 5, 1982
By Dorothy W. Jerse
Curator, Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - December 5, 1982
By Dorothy W. Jerse
Curator, Vigo County Historical Society
Silk and pansies for Christmas
One of the treasures of the Vigo County Historical Society is a collection of Christmas cards. Several century-old examples, shown above and on display in the Altrusa case, make up this week’s historical treasure.
The 1880s were often referred to as the "elegant eighties." This elegance was found in the households, wardrobes and in the social custom of exchanging Christmas cards during that decade. The silk-fringed greetings were the most elegant of all holiday greetings.
The cards were constructed with two pieces of stationery stock glued to a larger piece of silk. Threads were pulled from the silk to make the fringe. Most were single cards, but one example of a folded fringed card appears above. All four sides carry the words "Christmas Greeting with best love" and illustrations of robins with baskets of flowers and holly.
The beautifully lithographed card bearing pansies in velvet colors reads simply "A Merry Christmas." It is not unusual to find spring and summer flowers, such as pansies, on early Christmas cards.
The card pictured here with peony flowers includes a miniature album. The album cover lifts up to export the greeting:
Accept my Christmas album
And may these lines, I send,
E’er to thy sight be welcome,
In mem’ry of a friend.
The other side of this card is illustrated with poppies and daisies and the words read "May Christmas yield these pure delights." Under the album cover are the words:
Let thy Christmas pleasure
Like flowers of the field
Be simple, sweet and homely
And pure delight ‘twill yield.
The small birds on the fan-shaped card offer, "We sing a very Merry Christmas." Fans were popular fashion accessories and hand air-conditioners a century ago and their use is often reflected on holiday greeting cards of that time.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.