These weird Christmas and New Year greeting cards are from the 19th-century, or more precisely, the Victorian era, and they are all kind of creepy - in a Victorian way. Apparently, back then there was nothing unusual about sending your loved ones a grim image of a dead robin with the words 'May yours be
22 Creepy Vintage Christmas Cards That Would Make Krampus Giggle - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
The most wonderful time of year? Tell that to the illustrators of the 19th century, who seemed to love nothing more than drawing scenes of violent frogs and creepy onion people
magazine clipping from vintage Workbasket magazine to make a novelty Christmas evening purse from vintage Christmas cards and a crochet top
Victorian Christmas cards don't look anything like the commercialized and happy greeting cards we're all used to today. They're cards were creepy and grim.
At Christmas, what better use of the internet is there than to share some hilariously creepy Christmas card art? Terrify your children with these classics.
There is still time to create a few vintage ornaments and slip them fresh off your craft table onto your Christmas tree: When I found these Christmas Greeting Cards, I fell completely in love! They…
Dear Compassionate Sir and Associates, The annual whirlwind visit completed, you may have already taken off your boots and are resting in front of a warm fire. This is a polite request for any scra…
Explore contrarymary's 1885 photos on Flickr!
Take a trip to Foxwood Village once again. These magical illustrations are available as Birthday & Christmas Cards.
Who needs Jolly Old Saint Nick when you have evil Krampus kidnapping your children and frogs committing murder! It's all part of a Victorian Christmas. More
These holiday cards and postcards seemed appropriate at the time they were made.
Take a trip to Foxwood Village once again. These magical illustrations are available as Birthday & Christmas Cards.
Vintage Austrian postcard
Um, our ancestors were weird, y'all. Maybe we're just missing some context that would make these bizarre Victorian Christmas cards make sense?
Like the cartoons in The New Yorker where the captions often have scant relevance to their illustrations, these vintage Christmas cards seem perversely at odds with the intended holiday spirit. Krampus terrorizes a young boy. A frog robs and murders a fellow amphibian. A dead robin (apparently) signifies joyful wishes. A polar bear prepares to devour an unwitting explorer, while an emu inspects its prey. What are we to make of these cards—other than to surmise that humor does not age well? With our incessant social media, email, Twitter and alike, we still like to send and receive cards. In 2014, the UK spent over two billion dollars on greetings cards, a nice little earner. Having spent the morning writing seasonal cards to various friends and family, I find my glittered pictures of snow scenes and Christmas lights pale beside this little mailbag of festive cheer. I think the robin is saying, ‘Come sunrise, you’re fucked Frosty.’ Not quite sure why this would be a ‘Merry Christmas.’ More like death of the old year and on with the new, right? Like villagers in a ‘Frankenstein’ movie, the birds are coming to get you… Frogs...
Things flash by me on the web as I’m surfing and I neglect to bookmark them - so it was with the greetings cards box … or vintage card box, handsewn Victorian greetings card box, crocheted card box … and all the other searches I made. As the memory of the kind of boxes I’d seen and handled at Vintage fairs lingered, how best to describe them eluded me. Then I found it! Then more and more popped up on various web pages - and I was determined to try and make one. Impatient as I am I didn’t download instructions, how hard could it be? And then I realised that the nicest boxes weren’t just blanket stitched around the edge - they were crocheted. Hmm - as a rule I don’t crochet. But I have been to a class and I do have some books and some hooks. I’d give it a go. They are variously described as Victorian boxes as I’m guessing they were a popular craft pastime at the time. And still popular now - how about this dinky cup and saucer in the same method from the blog Tea With Friends - fabulous! I stumbled across one crafter who seemed to have mastered the art ... ... and you can see the truly wonderful work on her blog (check out her tea cosies). She also gives quite a comprehensive tutorial for making these boxes, which I was able to follow - so thank you Blogosphere. I made a mock up first in plain card to see if I could get the pattern shape right. I had wanted to make a hexagonal box - my primary school geometry came in handy, but the sides were too shallow and the card too flimsy and I ended up with a rather squat wonky affair. So I went ahead with a square box for my first attempt. It was the memory of the rounded sides that had stayed with me so it was important I curved the sides of my template. I had plenty of old greetings cards and postcards to choose from and I would probably double back the cards if made another one so that the inside of the box would be as decorative. There is something nice about capturing the handwritten messages on the interior - one card I used was from my daughter who had written the lyrics to ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..’ inside. A lovely reminder as I open the box! Next I punched holes around all the edges then began to crochet. Suffice it to say I finally got the hang of crocheting two stitches (chains?) into a hole, then an extra chain to take me to the neighbouring hole, and three chains in the corners - crocheters out there, feel free to correct my jargon. Note I was in desperate need of a manicure. Once all the cards were edged I sewed them together being careful to get the images the right way up, adding a tassel to the lid for extra pomp! Ta da! I've made more 'sides' than I've actually used so may make another, they're quite quick to put together now I've got the hang of it.
Take a trip to Foxwood Village once again. These magical illustrations are available as Birthday & Christmas Cards.
Anthropomorphic cats, murderous frogs, and insects dancing by the moonlight aren't exactly part of our Christmas card tradition today.
There is still time to create a few vintage ornaments and slip them fresh off your craft table onto your Christmas tree: When I found these Christmas Greeting Cards, I fell completely in love! They…
This sweet kitten is from a vintage Cdn greeting.
Did you know that Beatrix Potter’s first published works were greetings cards? In accordance with her parents’ Unitarian beliefs, Christmas was acknowledged rather than celebrated in the Kensington household Beatrix Potter grew up in. Despite...
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There are so many things I want desperately to blog about that never come to fruition because there's no time to do all the research and write all the details- however enjoyable I know the whole process will be... sigh. With that said, do you know Mela Koehler's work? She was born in Vienna in 1885 and was a part of the Wiener Werkstätte. If you have ever studied women's roles in the arts in the first half of the 20th century, you will know how extraordinary it was for a woman to have made a living as an artist...
The iconic Regimental cards were sent home by British soldiers and feature images such as a British bulldog and ‘Somme pudding’. The 100-year-old cards go on display today at York Castle Museum.
Take a trip to Foxwood Village once again. These magical illustrations are available as Birthday & Christmas Cards.
Beautiful cards illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith. This illustration was featured in Good Housekeeping Magazine in the early 20th Century. Each card is 6 1/2 x 6 1/2" and are blank inside. Price is for single card with envelope.
What could be better than sitting down for a nice brekkie with your best furry friend? For me, Mani Parke’s art was love at first bark. Her pictures make me happy — and no wonder, they …
I absolutely adore vintage greeting cards, and love listing them on eBay -- especially vintage Christmas cards and Valentines. This charming Molly Brett greeting card (1940's to 1950's) just sold in my store for $41.00 - link to sold Molly Brett greeting card. It's a charmer! Molly Brett was a British artist and illustrator (1902 - 1990) who was most famous for her anthropomorphic animal illustrations. Her work has always reminded me of Beatrix Potter! This little card is especially sweet, with a family of mice hanging Christmas stockings and getting ready for the holidays.
Everyone needs a side-kick, and Saint Nicklaus is no exception. We’re not talking about cutesy elves and glow-in-the-dark reindeer, but the Krampus, an anthropomorphic, demonic goat-horned creature of European folklore. Santa knows when you’ve been good and bad, and so does Krampus. Santa just ignores the naughty kids. Krampus beats them to a pulp with … Continue reading "Greetings From Krampus: Gorgeous Old Postcards Of Santa’s Demonic Sidekick"
There is still time to create a few vintage ornaments and slip them fresh off your craft table onto your Christmas tree: When I found these Christmas Greeting Cards, I fell completely in love! They…
Borne out of having too little time, the holiday greeting has boomed into a major industry
22 Creepy Vintage Christmas Cards That Would Make Krampus Giggle - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
Paper Crafts – Christmas Collage/Altered Art – The Holy Family Supplies courtesy of – thank you!
A museum has uncovered a collection of Christmas cards by saucy postcard artist Donald McGill.
Who this mysterious fellow, anyway?Today is the Feast of St. Nicholas and I have been surprised by thestories I am hearing. The Scarlet Letter Press in...
The Wiener Werkstätte, or Vienna Workshops was founded in 1903 by architect Josef Hoffmann and artist Koloman Moser. In 1907, the Wiener Werkstätte began publishing a numbered series of postcards, which would ultimately include nearly 1,000 cards. Many of them were designed to celebrate holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Fashion, both contemporary and historical, became another popular subject, along with humorous topics and favourite tourist spots of the period. All of the major designers who worked for the firm were contributors in this medium including Josef Hoffmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele, and Dagobert Peche. Other noteworthy artists who were active in this area whose names may be less familiar include Moriz Jung, Rudolf Kalvach, Mela Koehler, and Maria Likarz, among others. Postcard reverse This is part 1 of a 2-part post on Wiener Werkstätte postcards: Postkarte no. 18 Urban Janke, Til Eulenspiegel Postkarte no. 19 Franz Karl Delavilla Postkarte no. 21 Oskar Kokoschka Postkarte no. 29 Ruldolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 33 Ruldolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 66 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 67 Josef Hoffmann Postkarte no. 71 Berthold Loffler Postkarte no. 78 Oskar Kokoschka Postkarte no. 81 Moriz Jung, The Child Prodigy 1907 Postkarte no. 82 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 85 Rudolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 87 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 89 Rudolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 90 Rudolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 95 Rudolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 96 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 99 Rudolf Kalvach, Joys of Motherhood 1907 Postkarte no. 100 Rudolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 107 Rudolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 110 Mela Koehler Postkarte no. 134 Urban Janke Postkarte no. 135 Urban Janke Postkarte no. 148 Rudolf Kalvach Postkarte no. 151 Fritz Zeymer Postkarte no. 167 Remigius Geyling Postkarte no. 252 Carl Otto Czeschka Postkarte no. 262 Josef Divéky Postkarte no. 282 Erich Schmal Postkarte no. 288 Egon Schiele Postkarte no. 305 Hans Kalmsteiner Postkarte no. 309 Unknown Artist Postkarte no. 319 Susi Singer Postkarte no. 341 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 342 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 343 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 344 Moriz Jung Postkarte no. 380 Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel Postkarte no. 381 Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel Postkarte no. 392 Mela Koehler Postkarte no. 397 Mela Koehler
