The new year has begun!

This blog post was supposed to be for January 1. The batteries died in my mouse so they had to be recharged, four hours later the batteries were recharged. It was late in the evening, I am now working on the blog today.

It is late this evening as well but here is the first post, New Year's Eve cards and bridge tallies.

This is the only celluloid New Year's Eve card that I own, truthfully it is a Christmas/New Years card. The green silk cord with tassels holds the paper interior snugly inside the celluloid exterior. The green and gold image on the celluloid is deeply embossed. Celluloid was the first plastic.

During the Victorian era the language of flowers was used to express deeper meaning to the image on the cards. Ivy had several meanings; fidelity, friendship, wedded love, affection and would differ if included with other flowers or foliage.

The verse at the top of this 1907 card is somewhat bittersweet, friends or family are now far away in Canada; I am certain that the ivy on the cover of the card had the meaning of  friendship and affection.

Music, streamers, and noisemakers, what more says Happy New Year.

The inside is has some wonderful noisemakers with confetti, streamers, and music signifying the New Year.

This card looks more like a Christmas card than one wishing a Happy New Year.

I wonder if this image was also used for Christmas greetings as well?

Classic, fun, elegant; I love the image on this card.

Zoot suiters wish you a Happy New Year in this 1940s card.

I love noisemakers, party hats, and confetti; with the addition of holly and evergreens in the background what more could you want for this time of year.

This card is a little more sober than the rest, it may be a wartime card.

This is one of my favourite images of Father Time that I have seen and I am happy to say that I own it!

The design of each card is beautiful. Both are printed in black, red, green, and silver on cream card stock. Each card has a silk cord and tassel; Father Time has a green cord with a red tassel and the party revellers have a red cord with a green tassel.

There are two more posts to come of antique postcards, I had no idea I owned so many.

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 15 - St. Patrick's Day - antique postcards

I have been scanning items from my Saint Patrick's Day collection and will be posting them for you to both enjoy but maybe find some inspiration as well. As you have found from previous posts I get inspiration from all sorts or places. One Hallowe'en candy container that I built was inspired by a Christmas image that I have. You just never know where those ideas come from.

I am a romantic at heart and this is one of my favourite postcards for Saint Patrick's Day.

I believe, but correct me if I am wrong, that this is the castle where the Blarney stone is located. When I was in Ireland I didn't go to see and kiss the Blarney Stone. The guide holds your legs as you lie on your back with your head and upper body over a hole in the floor of the turret walkway some hundred feet in the air just to kiss a rock! If I had known about it at the time I probably would have done it though. I would love to go back to Ireland and kiss the Blarney Stone. The country is so beautiful and the people are truly incredible.

Shamrocks, a harp, and an old Irish Village are all nostalgic reminders to immigrants of their beloved homeland.

A church ruin on a hill in the moonlight, Ireland is truly a beautiful country. The antique postcards were reminders of home. Saint Patrick's Day now is a reminder to drink green beer!

More iconic images of Ireland; shamrocks, the tapered Irish top hat used to frame of a scene from "home", and two clay pipes. On the bottom of this postcard are the words "Erin Go Bragh" that translate from the Gaelic to mean "Ireland Forever".

There are no shamrocks on this postcard but if you understand the language of flowers used in Victorian times then the images become very poignant; red roses are for  passion, ivy means dependence and the forget-me-not stands for true love. These sentiments are not only for the friends and relatives at home but also for Ireland.

This is a cute postcard. The four leaf clover is a well known sign of good luck, but that pig is a sign of good luck as well.

The sentiments on the postcard say it all.

Dear Ireland's emblem - just a spray to bring good luck to you this day.

ERIN GO BRAGH

With shillalah and pipe and a pretty colleen;

There's no place in the world like ould Ireland so green.

Father and daughter are dressed to the nines in their finest (green) clothes ready for the Saint Patrick's Day parade.

More Antique Christmas Cards

These antique Christmas cards are made of celluloid, an early form of plastic. There is an inner lining of paper. They date to the turn of the last century.

The designs were used for various occasions. There would have been an appropriate sentiment printed on the inside to suit the particular occasion for which they meant. Some of these cards are very deeply embossed and are truly elegant.

Looking at these cards from a 21st century point of view it is a little difficult to see why these flowers and emblems were used. The Victorians loved to convey coded messages. Floriography, more commonly called the language of flowers, was used allowing individuals to express feelings that otherwise could not be spoken. Remember that Victorian England was very proper and the way in which you presented yourself was of utmost importance.

These are the symbols and flowers depicted on the cards. After reading the individual meanings that I have listed below see if you can find the sentiments that are hidden in these antique Christmas cards.

We associate the swastika with the Nazi regime, but this symbol has a long history in cultural design. It was adopted by them and now has a very unsavory image. The Nazi swastika also had the arms going in the other direction. Traditionally the reverse swastika has been used as a symbol of good luck, welfare, prosperity or victory.

The wishbone usually stands for a wish or desire.

The horseshoe stands for fortune or good luck.

The anchor was an early Christian symbol commonly found in the Roman catacombs. It was used on Christian tombs as a symbol of the hope we have in Christ beyond this life. Most likely the symbol comes from this verse:

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:19-20

Daisy – Innocence; loyal love; I’ll never tell; purity.

Ivy – Fidelity; friendship; wedded love; affection.

Aster – Love; daintiness.

Pansy – Thoughts; love.

Red roses – Love; I love you.

Bouquet of roses in full bloom – Gratitude.

Blue violet – Watchfulness; faithfulness; I'll always be true.

Don't forget to go to the NORAD Santa tracking site this evening.

Have a very Merry Christmas from me, Len Bentham at Happy Holidays.