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* Your post or item for sale
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Today I am sharing some of my
vast just enough to be dangerous
knowledge on collecting antique
Christmas and holiday postcards.
The early 20th century brought
about some wonderful paper ephemera,
in the form of greetings.
Let's take a look at some of them,
with some tips and hints to spot
a collectible card.
I've chosen the holidays just
because we are about
to hit the busy season...
but some of these tips
apply to the cards that
were made for all year round.
Let's start off with Santa.
If he is wearing a suit that is
not typical of the modern
red and white, then the
card is worth more and is
sought out by collectors.
In the card above, his suit
is trimmed in black.
Here is another unique card, with
the reddish brown cloak.
Plus, he is not carrying his usual sack of
toys... but a lantern and axe,
standing with an angel.
Cards like these can make the
value run anywhere between
10.00 - 15.00.
(Side note: These two Santa
under the ephemera category)
The gold or silver foil kind are very common
but they never seem to lose their appeal.
Some stand out above the rest
like the wish bone and the robin.
This one has wonderful
glassy style glitter,
hard to see in the photo but
really feels neat to the touch.
This is a mechanical postcard.
It is worth more... and is more
desirable to collectors.
See the arrows pointing out the wheel,
which changes the month, date, and day
of the week? It could be used
as a calendar. Love it!
This one has a lace edge.
These are embossed and have
great texture.
See the raised detail?
Now this trio is where we get into some of the
more valuable cards.
Look for teeny tiny print at the bottom.
Some are by famous artists.
The one on the right is by John Winsch.
Also very collectible are
Ellen Clapsaddle and Frances Brundage.
Do you see Ms. Clapsaddle's
signature at the bottom?
These can run anywhere
from 6.00 to 15.00.
She also did other holidays
so be sure to look for those...
like Halloween, Valentine's Day,
and St. Patrick's Day.
Although I am not sure who is
the artist of the postcard,
I tend to be drawn in by
cards that have people
in them.
These are foreign cards.
Note the text in English and Italian.
I've also seen French.
Then there are cards with
wonderful graphics.
But sometimes the appeal has nothing
to do with money at all.
It is what is written on the back that
melts the heart.
I hope you learned something new
today about collecting holiday postcards!
In a future LTV post I will share some
cards from my own collection.
(Yet another!)
Now, here are this week's features:
First, let's start off with Rita of Panoply.
She and her Sisters created "Chris Missy"
and dazzled everyone who saw her in
their shared antique booth.
of "blog time" being featured.
But with ideas as clever as this teapot
sewing box with the lid pin cushion... I can see why!
So clever, she now has me with an eye on a couple of
tea pots in my inventory, and I'm not really a big crafter!
and Penny of Penny's Vintage Home
shared some of her amazing
Christmas displays. She mixes
new and old together. I love
these ballerina figurines that
were her Mother's.
and Sam of Raggedy Bits
shared her cupboard makeover.
I love how she distressed it
and added the handwriting paper.
If you were a feature
today, be sure to grab this
"My Blog was Featured"
button!
Now it's your turn...