Christmas in Cleveland by Alan F. Dutka

Author:Alan F. Dutka
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

This preliminary sketch (1842) anticipated a design for a very early Christmas card printed in 1848. William Maw Egley’s four illustrations depicted extremes in holiday activities: an elegant ballroom scene (top left), a fancy Victorian Christmas dinner (top right), underprivileged people in a soup line (bottom left) and walking during inclement weather (bottom right). Courtesy of Cleveland Public Library, Photograph Collection.

In the 1880s, Cleveland merchants advertised a wide variety of cards priced from one cent to two dollars. Foil ribbons and silk fringes enhanced expensive engraved cards. Wealthy residents also chose satin cards that incorporated the phrase “A Merry Christmas,” which was carved from silver- or gold-colored metal. Winter scenes and poinsettias ranked among the most popular images printed on the Christmas cards. The Levy & Stearn Company specialized in hand-painted cards on satin, celluloid, gauze or kid. For the less wealthy, Burrows advertised “a large selection at reasonable prices” and the Bailey department store offered greeting cards for one and two cents.

Sharpshooter Annie Oakley is believed to have inaugurated the “personalized” Christmas card. In 1891, while in Scotland, she dispatched cards that incorporated her photograph to friends and family in the United States. In September 1913, the Halle company encouraged customers to order personalized Christmas cards in September. Customers selected their favorites styles and composed personal sentiments to be printed on the cards. Shoppers could also submit their own pictures to be included on the cards. The cost of custom-made cards varied greatly, depending on the complexity of the design. Customers finalized their orders eight weeks prior to Christmas Day, since the cards were printed in England.

During World War I, Cleveland stores advised that customers who were sending Christmas cards to servicemen overseas should mail their greetings prior to October 31. Stores charged between five and fifteen cents for military-themed messages, such as:

The English lass is fair o’ face, Italian girls are pretty;

The Belgium miss is famed for grace,

And French mademoiselles are witty;

But a lone little maid in the U.S.A.,

Sends you her love this Christmas Day.

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