Vintage Thanksgiving Postcards

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While Thanksgiving is not considered as a typical card-giving holiday, the custom of sending greeting cards for Thanksgiving started in the 19th century, almost at the same time as Christmas cards and other greeting cards. Today, it’s not much different. Fewer and fewer people send Thanksgiving greetings by classic mail. Still, the tradition of sending Thanksgiving picture cards persists, connecting centuries and giving us an opportunity to observe changes in our society through the differences in images on the cards.

We decided to make a selection of vintage Thanksgiving cards by different creators. The names below were in top demand during the Golden Era of picture postcards with hundreds of designs and millions of sold cards. Each one of them has a specific approach. Together, they give us a pretty good picture of our relationship with the Thanksgiving holiday a century or more ago.

Julius Bien (1826-1909)

Julius Bien was a German-born American lithographer. He built a large and successful company through decades of hard work, eventually building a business where cards, some designed by himself and some by his employees under his guidance, became a recognized brand. His best-known work is a series of illustrations for The Birds of America by John James Audubon. A turkey in the leading role for Thanksgiving postcards is not a surprise at all.

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Frances Brundage (1854-1937)

Frances Brundage’s specialty was kids with rosy cheeks, and these cheeks are inevitable even in the rare cases where she portrayed a bit older folk. Her Thanksgiving images, in general, present traditional elements like clothes or tools for harvesting with smiling faces and mild irony.

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Are you looking for Thanksgiving cards in bulk?

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Thanksgiving cards in bulk – with envelopes

William Wallace Denslow (1856-1915)

The original illustrator of Oz was not among the most productive authors of greeting cards. His series of Thanksgiving Day cards are executed in his recognizable style, with picturesque characters, a lot of humor, and very close to the comics. Among all the presented artists, he probably had the highest level of independence at creation.

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Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle (1865-1934)

The most popular picture card artist of all time was probably Ellen Clapsaddle. She was hyperproductive with a lot of assistance in her studio, working as a subsidiary. When the International Art Publishing Company recognized her talent, paid her a two-year trip to Germany, where she honed her skills. After returning to New York, she established a subsidiary of the International Art Publishing Company, where she worked as the only artist.

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Who needs boxed Thanksgiving cards with envelopes?

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Boxed Thanksgiving cards with envelopes – for kids and young at hearts

H. B. Griggs (1870-1940)

The information about H. B. Griggs is virtually non-existent. We don’t even know his first name. It could be Henry, but this is just a guess. Still, we can enjoy his aesthetic designs with a pinch of humor.

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Talking about humor, we couldn’t resist presenting the back of the card, which explicitly says which side of the postcard is meant for the address and which one for the message. Well, the instructions were obviously still not clear enough.

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Samuel Loren Schmucker (1879-1921)

This talented artist suffered from ill health for his whole life. Still, he managed to create numerous postcard designs of astonishing beauty. Schmucker’s Thanksgiving Day cards are very popular among the collectors. They stand out for the scenery, typography, and design.

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Religious motifs on Thanksgiving postcards are always in demand!

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Thanksgiving cards in bulk with religious motifs

This is the end of our presentation of vintage picture card designs for Thanksgiving. All the images are Public Domain, and you can use them for your online projects, send your friends, or virtually anything. A link to this webpage would be greatly appreciated. Share the beauty of vintage Thanksgiving postcards with everybody interested and help preserve their beauty for posterity.