Veterans Day

We did it once. We can do it again.

 

Happy Father's Day!

 

I love everything about this card! I hope it brings a smile to your face, too.

Less than a week away! How'd that happen?

Lovely image found online

Anniversary, 1944

My husband laughed when I showed him this card -- the golfer isn't facing the right way! Oh well. It's the thought that counts.

Brownie card: "It never rains but it pours --"

This is an adorable little greeting card -- about 3 1/2 inches square. It's unused, and the back is marked "Brownie 5 L 197 Copyright". I bet someone out there has a collection of these. Would love to know more about the artist and company.

Birthday cheer, 1939

The top of each car lifts slightly, to show the words health, happiness and joy. Parking .25. The big city off in the distance. Signed by Grandpa and Grandma Kauff, and no doubt adored by their grandson.

Pop-up Thanksgiving Card, c. 1940s

This illustration reminds me of 1940s-era movie cartoons.

That's a red feather, still intact after all these years since "Uncle Bob" sent it to "Dear Honey."

And the back has a witty embellishment on the Norcross logo!

My Birthday Wish for Sister, 1935

Did Senator Bill send this birthday card to his sister in 1935? That's what it looks like. You might be the lucky one to greet this lovely card on the freebie table at Morgantown.

Hallmark Walking Doll, c. 1971

This illustration style was popular in the early 1970s, and takes me back to high school days, and birthday cards, invitations and pretty boxes of stationery.

Birthday elves card, c. 1950s

Marked on back: "MIA" Cards. Printed in England.

Happy Mother's Day

A Mother's Day perm

Fravessi-Lamont, Inc. greeting card. No date, unused. That perm contraption could date this card sometime in the early 1950s...

Crowning the Axis, c. 1942

How cool is that, a little checkerboard tucked in a greeting card? Yes, Tojo, Adolph and Benny get their butts kicked once again. Aren't we glad they did? Guessing on the date, although could be later, if all I have to go on is the deeper bucket helmet on the soldier. This is the only card that had a mark on the back: J.S. Pub., N.Y. 

We're Rootin' for You Soldier, c. 1942

Second of three WW II cards I bought at a street fair last month. This time, Benito Mussolini joins Tojo and Hitler. Note the saucer- type helmet from the First World War, a clue that this card was also published early in the war effort. It's a pop-up type card, by the way: The die-cut flag unfurls when card is opened.

H'ya Soldier! c. 1942

 A boost to soldier morale during WWII. I'm guessing these cards were produced quickly in the early stages of the war, as the nation mobilized for action overseas. The setting is outside a theater, with the sign "Coming Soon," which could apply to the show and American involvement. Love the little fire hydrant. Inside, cartoon versions of the Axis powers get their comeuppance.

Birthday Greetings, c. 1940s

Sweet graphic art. Lift each bouquet inside the card to find three wishes...

Happy Birthday, 7 Year Old

A friend sent me this vintage birthday card as a gag a couple years back; it looks like the early 1960s.. I thought the artist looked familiar, but it wasn't until last year that I figured out it was Pete Hawley, thanks to Today's Inspiration, a blog by Leif Peng devoted to mid-20th century illustration. Peng has an excellent write-up on Hawley's career, and a Flickr set that shows the range of Hawley's work.

Here's a little girl from Peng's Flickr set, looking like a pensive version of the girl on the birthday card:

Hey mom!

Growing up in a New York City apartment in the sixties meant yelling out the window or, if you were outside, yelling up to someone to come to the window. This went on all the time when I was a kid. And writing with chalk on the sidewalk, of course. Families are usually idealized in the suburbs, not living on top of one another in the big city, so I was thrilled to find this a few years ago. Circa late fifties, early sixties, I'd guess. Printed by  Fravessi-Lamont, Inc. U.S.A.