For Freedom, Hearth and Home
Greetings Card
1914 (made)
1914 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Though war would seem to be totally opposed to the spirit of goodwill, generosity and peace promoted at Christmas, the number of Christmas cards sent increased dramatically during the First and Second World Wars. Soldiers were separated from their families and friends and the emphasis on the joy and goodness of Christmas became all the more pronounced. Many wartime greetings cards focused on warm scenes of hearth and home of the kind they would be missing. This quaint domestic scene featuring the family cat by the fireside typifies cards of this era. These same scenes were just as nostalgic for the wives, children and elderly coping with loneliness and the discomforts of rationing at home.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | For Freedom, Hearth and Home (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | lithography on card, embossing, paper-lace, fabric applique |
| Brief description | 'For Freedom, Heart and Home'. Greeting card, colour lithograph, Britain, 1914. |
| Physical description | Greeting card with cut paperwork borders, scalloped borders on three sides and an illustration depicting a cat sitting by the fireside. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | A cat sitting by a fireside, the sparse use of pink behind the kettle suggests the warm glow of the fire. |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Sweet Remembrances for the Past./ Kind Thoughts for the Present./ Good Wishes for the Future./ Xmas 1914/ And every Good Wish/ for/ Christmas and New Year./ From/ The Misses Manton/ 30 Frederick Street/ W.C.' (Inscription inside card) |
| Credit line | Given by Mr. Raymond E. de la P. Maddison |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Though war would seem to be totally opposed to the spirit of goodwill, generosity and peace promoted at Christmas, the number of Christmas cards sent increased dramatically during the First and Second World Wars. Soldiers were separated from their families and friends and the emphasis on the joy and goodness of Christmas became all the more pronounced. Many wartime greetings cards focused on warm scenes of hearth and home of the kind they would be missing. This quaint domestic scene featuring the family cat by the fireside typifies cards of this era. These same scenes were just as nostalgic for the wives, children and elderly coping with loneliness and the discomforts of rationing at home. |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1952. London: HMSO, 1963. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.263-1952 |
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| Record created | January 15, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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