I am scanning my Santa Clause post card collection and I am going to share it here. I collect by the color of Santa's robe but there are other ways to collect them, mode of transportation, artist, etc. Most of my cards are used. I have other colors I will post later, Purple, Brown and Red.
A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent). 04 Dec 2016 06:46:52pm
re: Santa Claus Post Cards
Oh I'm envious. I have a collecting of "old style" Santa figurines that my Mum started for me when I came home from University. Every year I would get a new one. Sometimes if I found one I'd get it. My collection is sadly now complete. I saw one last year and since it was something that was special between Mum (may she rest in peace) and I, I finished the collection for the last time (Mum passed away August 2015).
Those postcards are beautiful. Feel free to show more! I'd love to see them.
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I think most of us,(in America anyway)see Santa as that dude with the Coke bottle. It wasn't until the early 80's, when my mom was making ceramic Santa's for the girls in the family, that I realized how diverse the image of Santa was over the years. She made figurines that were everything from hobo Santa's to ones that were sized with real silver and gold detail. She based most of them from images she found in books.
Come to think of it, my wife has a small collection of Christmas and Valentines cards that belonged to her great aunt and grandmothers, most are from the early-mid 1900's. It's been a long time since I looked at them, I'll have to get her to dig them out and see what's in there.
Wonderful cards vinman, post more if you have them. Fun stuff!
Since you want to see more here is Santa in brown.
These two cards have the same vignette of Santa but the backgrounds are different.
These two cards are the same except the card on the left has gold glitter added to it. The post office eventually outlawed the use of glitter on cards because it clogged their sorting and cancelling equipment.
Two more cards that are the same but the card on the left has gold highlights added but it is not glitter.
I do have Santa in red clothing but haven't scanned them yet, maybe later tonight.
Kelly and WB.
I collect Santa figurines made of many different materials and styles. It's interesting how Santa is pictured around the world. Most of my collection is made in the US so it portrays "our" idea of what Santa is suppose to look like. I have a collection of hand carved Santas made by a gentleman near Bellefonte, PA, also home to the APS. I will be seeing him this week to see what new figures he has carved this year. There is an Italian, German, Irish, Scott, Southwest US Santas, Saint Nicholas among others. He carved a Firefighter Santa for me because I am retired from the Philadelphia Fire Department. He carved an Asian Indian Santa for his friend from India. Since there is no Indian Santa Claus he made one that he thought would look like if he was from India. His friend was pleased with it and I had him carve me one also.
I found another craft person from the Bellefonte area that makes Santas from old chocolate candy molds. Yes, I have a collection of them also.
A friend of mine, who moved here from St. Louis, was a carver for years. His main gig was Santa Claus figures. He sold them at shows in St. Louis and Chicago. A couple of years ago his hands/wrists gave out on him. I've seen some of his work and pics of several others. If I'm not mistaken, he always carved a bird to ride on Santa's shoulder.
He was going to carve me a white buffalo, but alas...
A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent). 05 Dec 2016 09:20:42pm
re: Santa Claus Post Cards
These are awesome pictures - thank you also for the descriptions so that I could "see" the difference. That is fantastic.
My figurine collection is mostly "old style" Santa with the long robes. I collect only ceramic. The detail is fantastic and I can feel the glitter on some of the robes and the various designs of the long robes. Quite beautiful. Then I also have some "fun" ones - my last one from my Mum in 2014 was Santa in his study surrounded by books. It is the ultimate of ultimates for me because it truly describes who I am as well.
The robes on my figurines range all different reds, blue, cream, brownish-red and red with gold. Some others are "fun" ones with puppies in stockings.
I have one that my Dad picked out a few years back that is a Black Santa - very rare to see and quite beautiful.
I had never thought of a postcard collection. Hmm... perhaps another collection in the future?
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I made some time to copy my Santa in red cards. I still have a few more cards to scan but will be away from the scanner for a week but will scan them and post when I return.
These first two cards are Santa with a red coat and blue pants.
This card is by the artist Ellen Clapsaddle. The are collectors who specialize in just cards made by her.
I scanned one of the cards upside down. Too late to change it. Just turn your monitor over if you need too.
When I first began collecting postcards, all of the holiday cards (especially Easter & Xmas) struck me as painfully & unforgivably treacly.
Maybe I need to check my T-levels, but the holiday cards have grown on me ... and they are not even my holidays, so it must be the cards.
"... The post office eventually outlawed the use of glitter on cards because it clogged their sorting and cancelling equipment ..."
The ban on glitter (and, more importantly, mica chunks) predates the use of sorting equipment.
Some twit reportedly did not do what his mother would have told him to do - eg, wash the wound with soap & water - and it was his infection that resulted in the ban on glitter et al.
The new rule was that glittered postcards would travel under cover and at the letter rate .
ikeyPikey,
I like the old Halloween postcards but they usually are out of my price range. You got me thinking. I don't have my books on rates with me but I recall that there was a separate rate for holiday cards posted in the US if they were left unsealed. I guess if the card had glitter on it the envelope had to be sealed and the higher rate paid.
there WAS a holiday rate for unsealed Christmas cards. I think it mirrored the third class rate.
the glitter on a PC would have not affected that rate, but any PC with any additional 'stuff' on it would have had to have been mailed enclosed in a envelope.
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
Here is another addition to my Santa Claus collection. This is a an envelope with Santa in Army brown outfit for the war effort. Post marked on December 25th, 1943. The green label is behind the stamp. The label says "1943 War-Time Christmas".
The second scan is the top of the stationary that came with the envelope.
Funny you should say that about the public domain status of these old Santa postcard images.
A friend of mine gave me a Christmas card she made which included four slots on the front into which she fit a 1909 Santa postcard. I like that better.
Bruce
Karlfry,
I'm glad you like the postcards. They are part of my larger "Santa Claus" collection. If there are any you would like to borrow to print for Christmas cards just send me a message and I'll be happy to let you make copies of them.
Karl, the companies who produced these cards are probably long of business, thus nobody is maintaining any copyrights. You want to print a small quantity for non-commercial personal use. Someone would have to see your cards and file a complaint. At worse you'd get a "cease and desist" letter, which means nothing to you since you printed all you intended to anyway... print on!
Vinman:
This pc is not old like yours, however, if you would like to have it, just email me your address. Size: 4+" X 6".
Respectfully submitted:
jrc531
I like the idea of making Maxim Cards from greeting cards or using copies of the older post cards. Using the older post cards themselves I wouldn't like.
Vince
It doesn't need to be Christmas for more Santa cards. I would like to thank jcr for sending me the card he posted January 1st. I found a new area to collect my Santa Cards, Santa being held up by kids. I just started to see this type of card.
I have a collection of Danish Christmas cards, all postally used and all with Christmas seals. It extends from 1905 to the late 1950s. (I'm only missing one from 1904 - the year of the world's first EVER Christmas seal!) Most of the card subjects are typical Danish homes, and a lot of them depict windmills, which I collect because my grandfather was a Danish miller before he emigrated to the US in 1926. Here are a few of my favorites from that collection:
From 1910, Larson is the (famous) artist.
Another Larson, from 1912. Not really "Santa Claus", but more an elf theme...
And finally, I couldn't resist uploading this one:
Pigs are a traditional Danish symbol of good luck in the New Year.
Glædeligt Nytaar!
Paul, what a fabulous collection of Danish seals on cover.
Anne Mette Heindorff was a member before her death, and she maintained an exquisite Danish seal website.
I collect US seals tied to cover, and while yours are outside my area, they are clearly something to behold. If you haven't done so already, I'd invite you to consider doing an exhibit on your collection of Danish seals on cover.
David
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
Why thank you, David!
I have never done any exhibits, but I have several collections that warrant the effort!
Stay tuned!
And, THANKS SOR, for enriching my collector-life!
-Paul
PS, About the officious looking pig, doomboy, did you notice the legs on the table?
pigdoc,
Neat collection, I like tied seals also. Those cards have a lot going for them. Christmas, Christmas seals, famous artist and connection to your family's roots.
Recently, a visitor showed up at one of our stamp club meetings
with a box of old correspondence;
I was away at the time, but no one else in the club had an interest in the contents,
so it was held for me until I returned.
I was very pleased with what I found;
I collect postal history of where I live (Greenville, Mich.) and the box
was all correspondence from here!
There were covers (some with correspondence)& postcards,
some sent or received locally,
and some from Denmark since that was the person's nationality that was sending/receiving
it.
Needless to say, I was quite pleased to have acquired it,
especially since Greenville, MI is known as Danish Festival City and was founded by a Danish family.
I said all that to lead up to the fact that I found 2 Santa Claus postcards
in the bunch and also about a dozen covers with Christmas Seals on them,
including one FROM Denmark with a 1910 Danish Christmas Seal on it and postmarked 1910.
Unfortunately, none of the seal covers are tied-ons, but I will happily keep them nonetheless.
They cover the years 1910 thru 1935, but is not a complete run.
Most have the seals on the back.
But still, fun to look at and some great local postmarks and some welcome local postal history!
Greenville was founded and settled by John Green,
but many Danish settlers were involved in the settlement, thus our town's heritage.
We also have strong ties to the Netherlands, as Hendrik Meijer - founder of
the Meijer grocery store chain - settled here and opened the first Meijer grocery.
Speaking of Hendrik Meijer, the family name was spelled differently when he and his wife during the time, both at that time ardent communists, lived in the Netherlands. I believe it was spelled Maijer but there is also another alternate spelling among the documents on display at the corporate headquarters so there may have been three spellings including the current one adopted here in the USA.
According to one of the relatives, Hendrik had a change of heart regarding communism after he opened the first store in Greenville. On the other hand according to that same relative, his wife likely remained a loyal communist to the end. To this day though the Meijer family is known for a lack of religious affiliation, perhaps a tip of the hat to their communist roots or more likely a savvy neutral marketing position.
Here's a pair from my large collection of Denmark Christmas cards, all GPU, all with Christmas seals. These are both illustrations by Larsen, who is prized for his wry and comic portrayal of Danish Christmas traditions:
Top one is from 1915, bottom is from 1913.
Danish Christmas tradition has a certain mischievious slant to it. Hence, you see scenes on Christmas cards of elvin figures committing petty crimes, like stealing milk from a cow, or apparently attempting to entice a nice fat rabbit into the Jul stew pot.
In Denmark, the figure of "Nissa Far" is folklore, instead of "Santa Claus". His wife is, of course, "Nissa Mor". The 1913 card above apparently portrays Nissa Far. I remember my grandparents (both natives of Denmark) having small figurines of these displayed at Christmastime...
Here are some Santa Clause and Christmas post cards I picked up at NAPEX last week.
The first card is Santa in Red Suit with black trim.
The second is Santa in a green coat with gold trim and red hat.
The third card show children taking toys from Santa's bag. I have a small collection of children taking toys or holding up Santa.
The last card is is just Santa in a red robe.
This card is a hold to light card. When a light is placed at the back of the card the moon and windows glow.
On the reverse is a handwritten message dated 19681231:
The postcard is written to siblings, one of which is named Basil (translated to Billy), telling him that it is also his name day, and wishing him and all best wishes.
Closing: Wishing many years to come.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 15 Jun 2019 06:28:22pm
re: Santa Claus Post Cards
A little word to the wise - some of the more valuable Santa postcards are what they call "hold to the light" cards. They have tiny little holes where the stars are that let the light come through and sometimes the holes are so small they are hard to spot. One of the most valuable US postcards is a very early Uncle Sam "hold to the light" postcard. So keep your eyes open! Does any one have one they could show?
Sorry Vinman - I have to read more carefully! I see now that you mentioned the "hold to the light" I really do have to pay attention. The new post gives a much better view of it! I collect some post cards, it's amazing what you can find. I mentioned in another post that my wife collected "black cat good luck post cards".
Hi Harvey,
I posted a hold to light in the above post with no background light. Here is a picture of the same card in front of my desk lamp. It shows the lighted moon and windows. I would like to find a hold to light card with Santa Clause on it.
Vince - thanks for posting the photo with the light behind the postcard. I had never heard of those "hold to the light" ones, and the picture is better than the imagination!
I picked up a lot of new Santa Clause cards the past few months but don't have time to scan and post right now. I have been busy packing for the big move to Bellefonte. I did scan a few Christmas hold to light post cards.
Vinman:
