Kate Greenaway - Christmas Postcards & More
Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) is a synonym of illustrations of children for children and grown-ups. Her work is in constant demand among collectors, but most are familiar with her books only. This is not surprising if we consider that her name was used for one of the most prestigious awards in the industry of books for children: Kate Greenaway Medal (in 2022 it was renamed to The Carnegie Medal) - given every year for 'distinguished illustration in a book for children'.
Less known is the fact, that her first commercial success came with greeting cards, especially Christmas postcards.
Marcus Ward & Company entered the market of picture postcards with the art director Thomas Crane (1843-1903), older brother of the more famous Walter Crane (1845-1915). They established high-quality standards from design to print from the very beginning in 1867. Kate Greenaway was there pretty much from the start. While she also created several cards for Charles Goodall & Son, Ward & Co. stayed her major source of income from the field of picture postcards most of her life.
This article presents a selection of her works, arranged by themes:
Christmas
You will notice that in the early times greetings/wishes were often not printed. Sometimes, even the occasion (like Christmas) wasn't mentioned.
New Year
Compliments of the season is a phrase which is in English used during the Christmas and New Year time extending throughout the holidays into the new year.
Valentine
This is the only Valentine's Day card by Kate Greenaway I managed to find.
Greetings, Best Wishes, etc.
Original cards signed by KG (Kate Greenaway) are occasionally offered through auctions. The price for one card in good condition can be more than one hundred dollars.
All presented images are Public Domain. You can freely use them for your projects. A link to this page would be greatly appreciated.