Patti Gibbons Art

A few weekends ago I picked up several lots of Victorian holiday cards, many of which I  used in my greeting cards. There were many however, that are too beautiful or collectible to cut up. Those I will eventually list on eBay or Etsy; some I will keep for my collection. Many of the cards (and some booklets) were printed by Raphael Tuck (England) who were printers of postcards, greeting cards, children's books, chromolithograph prints, etc., and were one of the first companies to offer contests for greeting card design.   They are one of my favorite companies, along with the fine quality postcards that Stengel printed.  With the advent of the industrial revolution and the growth of industry all around, postcard/card/scrap collecting became the rage, where women and children collected these images and pasted them into ledgers, scrapbooks, and was the start of scrapbooking in this country. The quality of chromolithograph printing is like nothing else you will find ...

  I have abandoned my dissertation on chormolithographic prints/cards for a word about greeting cards. And, Thanksgiving. In the early 1900's, when millions of postcards and greeting cards were being printed every day, every single holiday warrented sending a card.   Actually, people sent cards every day for any occasion back in the early 20th century. With the advent of this virtual technology, fewer and fewer cards are sent, especially for birthdays.  We get virtual cards, wishes from our friends on Facebook, a text, or a phone call.  I only received one card in the mail this year, vs. the usual half a dozen. I'm not complaining folks. I got more birthday wishes on Facebook that I have ever received in 10 years combined.  It made me smile.  But not sending cards is bad business for us greeting card designers, and it gets harder and harder to find our market.   However, I won't give up.  I love antique paper.  I think I ...

Today was my seasonal November shop-a-thon at the local postcard show in our city. It is the show that I treasure and bargain hunt for images to use for my holiday post cards, as well as potential holiday gifts for friends and family.  I also hunt for ephemera which I think is collectible to sell on eBay and Etsy, so that I can help offset the cost of the cards I buy. I like the small gambles that I take..trying to guess if an item is worth more than I have paid for it, and if there is a market for it. At times I have struck big, but mostly make a bit of money to cover my time and ephemera addiction;  rarely do I lose money. Today's finds were a Victorian Trade Card album, and lots of cool Victorian cards and booklets. In the quarter and dollar box I found some damaged, but still cool postcards of what is now the Walkway Over the Hudson, and the railroad bridge over Abeel street, down on the Rondout creek. (above pics) I also made a connection with a collector who will...