Vintage’s Naughty or Nice

Enough moaning about longing for an old fashioned Christmas from those feeling the holiday has so changed it’s unrecognizable today. 

(Really. Fireworks? More New Years’ or July 4th than commemorating the Nativity…although there are those who smugly point to that blazing star: “If it’s OK for Heaven, then it’s OK for humans to mimic”…made in God’s image and all.)

Yet vintage Christmas always presents some unexpected attitudes and surprises:

Forget skiing and sleigh bells. Christmas fishing. 1870-1900.(Merchant Trade card /USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

Interesting Christmas sentiment offered at the bottom of the seasonal card. Probably not an ultra conservative Protestant, Puritan, or Catholic Christmas wish?

Ah, the fish is a religious symbol…so maybe fishing would be considered religious sport?

Which means that mystery guy that netted the big  Tarpon right out of the Bass Pro Shop, was possibly only following a very old traditional Christmas gifting? (Will he claim freedom of religious customs if apprehended and charged?)

Another 1870’s Christmas trade card. A pretty one for swingers. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

No one today will brave a guess to what trade it was for! HAHA…

(Honestly, people really shouldn’t judge things from the past through today’s lenses and attitudes.) 

Pretty. Pleasant. Charging on.

Santa’s bank account trade card, 1909. Holiday commercialization lives! (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

Even a bank is getting into the spirit!

Not bad advice with that metaphor, but seriously you gonna use Santa to get kids to open a bank account? Isn’t that going to bring up all sorts of questions from them. How did he make deposits? Those would have been done in person without direct deposit. The kids would mention they never saw him standing in line at the bank….or maybe he was in some disguise…which would end up with them wanting to hold stake outs at the bank entrance hoping to discover if he wore that red suit all year long… and next would be kids hanging around outside with apples and carrots in case Santa needed someone to hold the reindeers’ reins while he dashed inside.

Cute and creative. Wonder if the ad campaign worked.

Christmas birds in snow. 1886 Music business trade card.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

Nice design. Singing birds are thematically appropriate.

Though not the Two Turtle Doves of carol legend, I do hope they had a snug little bird house shelter and bubbler in a bird bath available.

Here’s a change: “Cheapest music house”? Most companies now would avoid the word “cheapest” – especially at Christmas gift giving time! Avoid like the plague. Maybe “quality at a reasonable price”, but then again people might have thought “cheap” was sign of a “smart choice” back then.

Anyway, music and Christmas have always been a fine pairing.

Christmas store gift display, 1946 (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

Ah, the days of elegance – offered to all at Christmas

Going downtown and walking through the most expensive department stores in the city was always a treat for us when we were growing up. Neiman-Marcus and Sakowitz (also a video here) put on serious competitions with their holiday decorations each year. Sigh.

It was the elegance and luxury your parents told you to work hard in school for so you could get a good job and actually afford to shop at these stores when you got older.  

After graduation, one of my first jobs was in the display department at a “second tier” department store: Foley’s. We may not have been Neiman’s, but were one of the top suburban retail stores – and we worked like crazy to make our store as much of a holiday shopping destination as the two first tier fancy ones. We also were in decorating competition with our flagship downtown store. (Not so snooty now, Downtown! Gotcha this year, slackers.)

Christmas started in August behind the scenes and the full blown Christmas Wonderland was never put up prior to Thanksgiving night. People, then, did line up for the store opening that next Friday – as much to see the holiday wonder unveiled as for the opening of the gift giving shopping season. We would hide and watch the faces as people streamed in and marveled at the amazing sights waiting them. Great fun. Great job. (Post about that job here)

Santa and children at Christmas party. 1923 book.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

No, their hands aren’t super glued together in order to get the photo op.

Little girls may still wear the knee socks and Mary Jane shoes, but do little boys get stuck with those sailor outfits these days? Gotta love that kid with a curl.

Dancing, happy children certainly what became the expected Christmas image.

Two Christmas angels with gold wings from the 1800’s would be right at home on Christmas cards today.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

Looking forward and back,

Timelessness and classic beauty are always in style.

So are cheerful positive season’s greetings.

May your Christmas be merry and bright

And may your New Year be full of wonder and delight.

Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.

1906 Christmas post card. Just nice. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)

 

 

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