|
Written greetings have existed since ancient times. The Chinese exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year and the Egyptians communicated their greetings on papyrus scrolls. However, it was not until the early 14th century that handmade paper greeting cards started to be exchanged between individuals in Europe. At this time the Germans developed the use of woodcuts for the printing of their cards. By the 1850s greeting cards had transformed from expensive, handmade and hand delivered to be a more affordable and thus common form of communication due to technical advances in printing which involved mechanisation. These advances resulted in new trends such as Christmas cards. The first recorded Christmas Card was published in London in 1843. Then in the 1860’s companies such as Marcus Ward & Co, Charles Bennett and Goodall began the mass production of greeting cards. These companies employed well known artists such as Walter Crane and Kate Greenaway as card designers and illustrators. The development of color lithography in 1930 propelled the manufactured greeting card industry forward to the industry we know today. |
|
|
Born London, March 17, 1846 - Died November 6, 1901 Kate Greenaway (often spelt incorrectly as Kate Greenway) was an English artist and illustrator/writer of children's book, cards, calendars and much more. Her subjects mainly consisted of children, young girls, flowers and landscapes. She was the daughter of John Greenaway a well-known draughtsman and engraver on wood. Kate completed a course at Heatherleys life classes and the Slade School in South Kensington. It was soon after completing these studies in 1868 that she started to exhibit watercolor drawings at the Dudley Gallery in London. By 1877 her drawings at Dudley Gallery were selling for 54 pounds. In 1868 she also started to design greeting cards for Marcus Ward. Over the years many of these were also used for calendar and book illustrations. During the period from 1868 to 1878 some of the cards were registered at Stationers' Hall but not in her name. The first recorded design at Stationers' Hall in her name was in 1879. By this stage she had also been working for other publishers such as Goodall. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Kate Greenaway illustrations and items have become very collectable over the years. These collectable items include Victorian Cards ( Greeting Cards , Christmas Cards , Valentine Cards , Birthday Cards, Antique Cards , New Year Cards ) Menus Ephemera (Stationary, Papers / letters signed by Kate Greenaway) Playing Cards Vintage and Modern ceramics (Figurines and plates made by the likes of ROYAL DOULTON , FRANKLIN MINT etc.) Buttons Dolls
|
|
|
