Greetings Card
1940 (published)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
A small collection of cards, telegrams and advertising material sent to the donor’s mother to celebrate the birth of her son Christopher John Mead born 1/5/1940. The messages in the cards are brief but it gives a small insight into family life. The telegram message from Uncle Ernest reads: 'Up the Reds' as they are a family of red heads.
Greeting cards to celebrate birth were available but usually only sent by close family members. The telegrams by nature are brief; these were mostly used as emergency communication but also to celebrate events such as a birth. There is some advertising material relating to baby goods, which may have been given out with the telegrams. This child was born at the beginning of the Second World War but probably not at a point that materials were in short supply.
Greeting cards have existed in many cultures during the past few hundred years but it was really in the 1850s that they gain popularity, as rather than being hand crafted one off pieces they were mass produced and cheaply available and the introduction of the postage stamp made the postal service more reliable. They saw another increase in the manufacture of cards in the 1930s with the introduction of coloured lithography.
Greeting cards to celebrate birth were available but usually only sent by close family members. The telegrams by nature are brief; these were mostly used as emergency communication but also to celebrate events such as a birth. There is some advertising material relating to baby goods, which may have been given out with the telegrams. This child was born at the beginning of the Second World War but probably not at a point that materials were in short supply.
Greeting cards have existed in many cultures during the past few hundred years but it was really in the 1850s that they gain popularity, as rather than being hand crafted one off pieces they were mass produced and cheaply available and the introduction of the postage stamp made the postal service more reliable. They saw another increase in the manufacture of cards in the 1930s with the introduction of coloured lithography.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | printed paper |
Brief description | Greeting card celebrating the birth of Christopher Mead born 1/5/1940, England |
Physical description | A folded paper card, one side of the paper is plain the other has a decorative silk effect in silver. The front of the card is a image of a baby laying on a pillow, the baby is dressed in a fur jacket and is holding a rattle and covered in a quilt. The image has been hand coloured in pink, blue and yellow. A silver floral decorative band has been hand drawn around the image of the baby. At the bottom it reads to 'Welcome Baby Dear'. On the inside cover is another image with in a similar decorative floral band. In the centre is a picture of a pair of booties and a rattle and a blue bow underneath. The opposite reads in print 'Welcome Little Stranger, So tiny and so new! Here is love to Baby and Dad and Mother Too. Handwritten underneath 'from Angela & Judith with love & big kisses.' |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Given by Stephen Mead |
Summary | A small collection of cards, telegrams and advertising material sent to the donor’s mother to celebrate the birth of her son Christopher John Mead born 1/5/1940. The messages in the cards are brief but it gives a small insight into family life. The telegram message from Uncle Ernest reads: 'Up the Reds' as they are a family of red heads. Greeting cards to celebrate birth were available but usually only sent by close family members. The telegrams by nature are brief; these were mostly used as emergency communication but also to celebrate events such as a birth. There is some advertising material relating to baby goods, which may have been given out with the telegrams. This child was born at the beginning of the Second World War but probably not at a point that materials were in short supply. Greeting cards have existed in many cultures during the past few hundred years but it was really in the 1850s that they gain popularity, as rather than being hand crafted one off pieces they were mass produced and cheaply available and the introduction of the postage stamp made the postal service more reliable. They saw another increase in the manufacture of cards in the 1930s with the introduction of coloured lithography. |
Collection | |
Accession number | B.416-2012 |
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Record created | March 7, 2013 |
Record URL |
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