Choose from 14 antique (and affordable) Thanksgiving postcards

Description: You have a few thousand Thanksgiving cards to choose from on eBay, and even the best don't seem to cost more than $10. Clearly Thanksgiving didn't hold a candle to Halloween in the short Edwardian era (1901-1919) when fancy postcards were the rage. That said, I've picked out 11 Thanksgiving cards from my late sister Betsy's massive postcard collection (all types, all subjects), and have priced them the going rate, if not even cheaper. Plus I'm even giving a volume discount and am only charging 15¢ postage for each additional card you buy at the same time. Here are some details I couldn't fit into the listing of cards above, in order of their listing:3D Turkey looking into the village. This is the tour de force of all the cards in terms of "over the top-dom". It's more of a bas relief than embossed, the detail is spectacular, and it's been hand painted and glittered. It's so heavy that it required two 1¢ stamps! I'm amazed that no artist or manufacturer added their name to this masterpiece (or I just couldn't find it). The postmark is 2016. It contains a homey note from a niece in Grinnell, Iowa to her aunt in Ocean Park, CA about various illnesses and the weather. It's in very nice shape, though browned on the writing side.Stecher Lithograph in Rochester, NY created "A Thanksgiving Toast", Series 560 E. There's a short note but no stamp, date or postmark. The postage square calls for 1 cent domestic and 2 cents foreign, so we're still in the same era. The eagle has kept its coloring and a nice embossing. The card could use a cleaning.Two turkeys join the national eagle to offer Thanksgiving Greetings in this card with a 1908 copyright by "HIR" in my adopted city of Boston. It has some gilt work and is mildly embossed. The corners are a bit stubbed, and the upper lefthand corner a bit bent. The reverse side has only the name "Ted", with no stamp, date, or postmark.Again, sadly, no date on the colorful card with a bouquet, a red white and blue streamer, and an inset painting of a rural scene, all beautifully embossed on a blue dot pattern background. It's remarkable how the colors have held up. "P. Sander" holds the copyright for #780. The card is in very nice shape, front and back.The 1919 postcard featuring a turkey in front of a flag with holly corners was printed in Germany, as were most of the best Halloween postcards. You can see the quality in the colors, the details, the gold overlay, and the embossing, which is virtually everywhere. There is a trademark in the lower lefthand corner of the written side, but I don't know it. The card has some edge wear and staining along the lower left corner, a bit up and a bit over.The 1910 postcard shows the Pilgrims praying at Plymouth Rock, presumably, with a two-stanza poem by Whittier. The cornucopias in the upper left and at bottom have held their color and are nicely embossed. No sign (to me) of the card's designer, except for the model number of 546. Nice shape front and back.I love this 2nd P.Sander (443) postcard of a proud (and very colorful) turkey standing in its own little golden ark between a 46-star flag and a luxurious bouquet of pink petals. The colors and the embossing have stood up wonderfully over more than 100 years (an unposted card, but clearly prior to 1920) with the slightest corner and edge wear.The silver card has a great deal of texture that may not show in the scan. I've seen this image in various color combinations, including several that make it clear that the turkey is standing on a carving knife (how rude!), with the handle to our right and the blade to our left. Chains make it into a swing for the turkey. Despite browning on the writing side (check out the design around the "C" in Post Card!), this card is in remarkable condition, never mind that its 113 years old. The maker's logo is an A with an A and this is #800/2.Uncle Sam with turkey and flag is similarly in fine shape: good color, fine embossing, minimal edge wear, reasonable browning. No date but it was printed in Germany, which I assume means it was pre-WW1. The logo is a tree with ASB.I've seen the maiden with the fruit baskets in both horizontal and vertical formats, same language, different numbers. Ours is T-39 with a copyright symbol of an N within a circle, which might be Nash. Wouldn't be surprised; this 1913 card has held up beautifully, with very strong colors and embossing and just modest browning. Strong cardstock.This 1921 golden card of a young Uncle Sam with a turkey looking askance is almost definitely the next "wave" of American printing. No embossing; the focus is on textured paper instead. Nicely-registered printing and a combo of humor and patriotism (the War is over!). Condition issues: a missing upper left corner for one. Surface loss in the lower left corner, and modest edge wear. The card is dirty and I suspect the gold background would glow if cleaned correctly. The message is wonderful: "Tell grandpa if he comes down to the cornfield on Wednesday to bring us a sack of the little daisy flour..."Turkey with Vase & Cherries (I think they're cherries, at least) is a gorgeously embossed, beautifully painted Art Nouveaux card printed in Germany (of course). It's in very good shape, with modest corner wear. It's a noted designer logo, but I forget whom.Turkey with Grapes and Wheat is another German-printed card, also with excellent color and embossing and condition with a couple small dirt or stain marks in the gold border. The card is dated 1908 and the logo is a child mailing a letter in a cylindrical mailbox.Thanksgiving Proclamation is curious in that it must refer to a colonial "governor", since George Washington quickly declared it a national holiday in 1789 before any state governor. This card, featuring three turkeys eerily fighting over the wishbone, is postmarked 1909, and features a performer named Ella Haas writing to someone about her latest performance. I've already lost money on this listing given the time it's taken me in research, photo taking, and writing, but it will be worth it if these cards get into younger hands and/or people who will take care of them. That's my responsibility to my sister. Thanks for reading.Rick

Price: 5.5 USD

Location: Mansfield, Massachusetts

End Time: 2024-08-23T21:13:11.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.35 USD