Christmas Bookmarks Circa 1880

by

Laine Farley

Christmas bookmarks of yesteryear have a distinctive look in terms of their subject matter and are certainly marked by the fonts that were popular well over a century ago. Some of the most prominent makers of greeting cards during the latter quarter of the nineteenth century also made bookmarks and their styles help date other anonymous bookmarks of the same period.

Today we associate certain plants with the holidays—poinsettias, holly, and pine and fir trees. In the late 1870s lithographer Louis Prang chose a completely different type of flora to adorn his holiday bookmarks. Prang was credited with introducing the first greeting cards in the U.S. around 1875 and also produced other similar items including bookmarks. The cranesbill, otherwise known as geranium incanum (a very popular perennial in the mild climate of California) graces a bookmark dated 1879 with an inscription from Christmas 1880. In this depiction it appears almost red with leaves tinted reddish green, although most perennials of this type have a distinct red-violet flower and lacy green foliage that only occasionally acquires a reddish hue. Another bookmark of the same date features the pussy willow to convey a New Year’s greeting. This plant now is more often associated with Easter than with Christmas, but as a harbinger of spring perhaps its use in a New Year’s greeting is more understandable. This bookmark features a quote from Shakespeare, a favorite source for Prang according to Larry Freeman, author of Louis Prang; Color Lithographer: Giant of a Man published in 1971.
 
The fonts with their curlicues and flourishes are representative of the overly embellished Victorian age. The fonts on these two examples are different but similarly decorative and clearly from the same time period. 

These two bookmarks are remarkably similar to an undated and unsigned Christmas bookmark featuring fuchsias, another non-traditional holiday flower by today’s standards that I included in my 2006 holiday column.

Another well-known lithographer of the same period, Raphael Tuck, produced undated bookmarks featuring roses. Tuck began in London in the mid-1800s and established an office in New York around 1900 so these bookmarks could have been produced during that time. Their marked similarity to the Prang bookmarks suggests that they also reflect the fashions and preferences of the 1870-1880 period. Another undated and unsigned card also features roses and uses a similar font, although it has a slightly different style for the flowers and lacks the gold toned border of the Tuck cards. 

A beautiful flower-themed bookmark by Tuck with a Shakespeare quote is dated 1880 according to the Emotions Greeting Card Museum’s site. It is interesting that all of these cards feature floral motifs, albeit not the plants we now associate with the holidays, and both Tuck and Prang used quotes from Shakespeare.

Another grouping of similar styles is anchored by a design dated 1878 by Wemple and Kronheim of New York. It features a butterfly and flowers with a quote from the bible but the inscription on reverse includes “Xmas 1880.” A bright illustration of a similar style featuring a greenish and red winged insect has a Christmas greeting and is pasted onto another card with a fancy border. It appears to have the artist’s initials or insignia but no date or publisher. A more whimsical design has the same type of font with a soft design of flowers and a bee but differs in that it includes a little girl amidst the oversized flowers, perhaps violets. This New Year’s card has a number but no date or publisher and the inscription on the back to “Aunty Vickers” provides an address without a date. It is probably safe to conclude that all three of these bookmarks are from the same time period. They especially evoke the naturalistic themes favored in an era when exploration of the world of flora and fauna was at its height and many Victorians collected specimens, a fascination that was portrayed to the extreme in the movie “Angels and Insects.” 

An ad in the December 1888 issue of American Magazine by a Boston firm offers a selection of Christmas cards by Prang, Tuck, and others  and even mentions a “Bookmark Card mounted on Satin Ribbon.” Unfortunately, it was rare to include illustrations of such small items, but we can speculate that they resembled the above examples that seem to typify the time period.  Perhaps while Victorian gentlemen were adventuring into the natural world to collect specimens, Victorian ladies were collecting printed specimens that were equally lovely and convey beautiful holiday greetings more than a century later.
 
Bookmark specifications: A Merry Christmas [Cranesbill]   
Dimensions: 2 1/4" x 5 5/8" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Louis Prang and Co., Boston   
Date: 1879
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: Wishing you a Happy New Year! [pussy willow]
Dimensions: 2 1/"4 x 5 7/8" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Louis Prang and Co., Boston
Date: 1879
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: Glad Tidings of Great Joy [red rose]
Dimensions: 1 7/8" x 4 3/4" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Raphael Tuck & Sons
Date: 1880s?
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: A merry Christmas and a happy New Year [pink rose]
Dimensions: 1 7/8" x 4 3/4" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Raphael Tuck & Sons
Date: 1880s?
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: The compliments of the season [rosebuds]
Dimensions: 1 5/8" x 4 1/2" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Unknown
Date: 1880s
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: Teach me thy statutes
Dimensions: 2 7/8" x 6  1/2" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Wemple & Kronheim
Date: 1878
Acquired: Side Street Antiques, Fremont, CA

Bookmark specifications: Wishing you Merry Christmas
Dimensions: 2 7/8" x 6  1/8" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Unknown
Date: 1870s?
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: May the New Year blessings bring Pure and sweet like the flowers of Spring
Dimensions: 2 7/8" x 6 1/2" ”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Unknown
Date: 1870s?
Acquired: eBay


Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books.  Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Contact Laine.