DESCRIPTIONA heavily embossed Santa Claus postcard. Santa, in a red fur-trimmed suit and cap, his white beard blowing and his breath showing in the cold, leans back in a dark green sleigh with a fringed yellow robe, holding the red reins. A sack beside him holds toys, among them a doll in a striped outfit and a fur-trimmed hat. His reindeer, in yellow harness with bells, leap up and away across a blue-gray night sky past a full yellow moon. Below are a snowy shingled rooftop and a red brick chimney, with village roofs in the distance. Red script greeting at the bottom: \"A Merry Christmas.\" Size approx. 5.30 x 3.40 in. (135 x 86 mm).
The back is a divided back headed \"Post Card\" in brown script, printed \"Made in Germany\" vertically at left and, along the bottom, a publisher\'s monogram (interlocking letters in a C-shaped ring, not identified) followed by \"No. 1915, 2 Santa Claus of olden times.\" The 1915 is a design number, not a date. 1-cent green Benjamin Franklin stamp; circular datestamp \"MOUND CITY, MO., DEC 23, 4:30 P, 1909.\" Addressed in violet to Miss Elsie Loucks, Mound City, Mo., and signed on the message side \"From Cousin, Mildred Snider\" (best reading). Two old pencil prices at the top, 17.50 and 6.00.HISTORICAL CONTEXTCousin to cousin. Mildred mailed this card to her cousin in her own town, Mound City, Missouri, two days before Christmas 1909. Mound City is in Holt County in the far northwest corner of the state; it was first platted as North Point in 1856, took the name Mound City for the mounds near the original town site, and was reached by the railroad in 1880.
Made in Germany. German printers dominated early postcard printing, producing inexpensive, high-quality lithographs for American publishers, and European printers shaped much of American popular imagery. In the same year this card was mailed, the Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909 sharply raised the duty on imported postcards, and the First World War later ended the German supply.
Nostalgia, even then. The printed title, \"Santa Claus of olden times,\" was already looking back in 1909.
The Golden Age of Postcards. From about 1907 to 1915 Americans sent hundreds of millions of postcards every year.CONDITIONGood. The lower right corner of the front has surface paper loss, where the printed layer has lifted to expose the plain stock, and there are two small white surface spots in the sky at upper left. Light rubbing along the top edge of the front. The back has a small chip and short splits at the lower left corner and light edge wear. Embossing deep and intact, colors strong. Message and address in violet; two old pencil prices on the back.
ABOUT THE PRINTINGThis is an original chromolithograph, and it was slow, exacting work. Each color had to be drawn onto its own separate stone by hand — in monochrome, the artist judging how much stipple each area needed so the colors would combine correctly only once every stone had been printed. The sheet then went through the press once for every color it carries, often a dozen or more, and every pass had to register exactly against the last. A pass out of register showed.
Under magnification the image resolves into irregular hand-drawn stipple, each ink carrying its own dot pattern, the colors mixing in the eye rather than on the paper. There is no regular halftone screen and no four-color rosette, which is what a modern reproduction would show. Modern process printing simulates every color from four inks; chromolithography laid each color down as its own.The whole scene is deeply embossed — Santa, the sleigh, the reindeer and the chimney all stand up from the card, and the relief shows clearly on the back.
PROVENANCEFrom my family\'s estate collections, built over more than 60 years by knowledgeable antiques collectors and traders. Stored in a climate-controlled environment.
ALSO IN OUR STOREAnother 1909 embossed Santa card marked as German-printed — a hexagon portrait framed in holly and silver: immigrant story behind early American imagery runs through our US silver dollars too: the Morgan dollar was designed by English-born George T. Morgan, the Peace dollar by Sicilian-born Anthony de Francisci.
Please visit TF sales Intl: and detailed item descriptions are provided as a courtesy only and are not guaranteed to be one hundred percent accurate. Please do your own research. There are generally no receipts available for any items from original purchases. Any dimensions and/or weights are approximate. The absence of a more detailed condition report does not imply there are no condition issues with the item(s). Please inspect images carefully as they are part of the official item description and best representation of the actual condition. Additional images may be available upon request depending on time and availability. Not responsible for internet mis-translations or mis-identification of maker\'s marks if found or assumptions of makers or materials — item descriptions will indicate if it is assumed. If you see a problem, please message us immediately and we will do our best to sort out a solution and confirm the information. With the exception of rules, no returns are accepted.
Ref# 1.0536
Related Items:
1909 Embossed Santa Sleigh Reindeer Rooftop Christmas Postcard Made in Germany
$46.62
1909 Embossed Santa Hexagon Portrait Holly Silver Christmas Postcard Germany
$47.67
4 Vintage Thanksgiving Postcards Lot: Antique 1909 Embossed Turkey Patriotic
$22.99
