![[Christmas Card Advertisement]](../pics/xmas5b.gif)
I was attracted to this item because of the very nice engraved image of the child. Then I saw that the image was part of an advertisement for a stationery company in Boston that sold Christmas cards.
What is more interesting yet is the fact that this cover dates from 1888, well before Christmas cards were commonly sent through the mails, and well before the "postcard craze" that saw the printing and mailing of millions of cards during the holiday season.
Of course, I could be completely off the path, since it was common practice to call on friends during the Holidays and leave calling cards. It may be possible that the "Christmas Cards" listed in this advertisement are actually calling cards, and not something sent through the mails. I welcome comments and suggestions about this.
Go back to the Swanson homepage.
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![load the picture separately [37k GIF]](../pics/../pics/xmas5b.gif){kind=link}