The Holiday Season is rapidly approaching – this year, we started seeing Christmas advertising in October! One very important part of celebrating the holidays is the exchange of holiday greeting cards, and while there is no end of choices out there, Primavera Gallery has something very special to offer – gorgeous French holiday cards from the 1920’s.
On one of our trips to Paris, we purchased an entire collection of fabulous antique hand-painted holiday cards that were done in the 1920’s, some of them designed by known illustrators of the period. Fortunately, they had been stored in the original cartons, and the colors are still as fresh and vibrant as when they were made. They were created by a process know as pochoir, a labor-intensive process whereby a stencil for each color was laid on the card, and then carefully painted-in by hand.
The sub
ject matter is varied. Many of the cards feature everyone’s “fantasy” 19th century Christmas – scenes of finely costumed people carrying brightly wrapped packages, with snow falling in the background, and beautiful interiors of people enjoying the holiday ambience. Some of the holiday cards feature exotic scenes, others depict people enjoying outdoor activities.
There are no messages inside, and while many of the images do evoke Christmas Past, they are quite non-denominational, and do not have religious themes, so they can be sent to people of any (or no) religious affiliations. Because they 
are so beautiful, many people who buy them from us send them as small gifts, as they are worthy of being framed. They are definitely cards that will never be thrown away, and the lucky recipients will always remember the gorgeous card that you so thoughtfully sent.
To see our entire collection of these wonderful antique holiday and Christmas cards, visit the Holiday Cards section of our website. (<– click on the link).
Audrey Friedman for Primavera Gallery
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