Antique & Vintage Postcards

Sent from one friend to another in the summer of 1906, this beautifully embossed "Birthday Greetings" card depicts a rosy-cheeked young girl in a powder-blue dress, her curly blonde hair crowned with tiny forget-me-nots, straining cheerfully to lift an enormous wicker basket overflowing with cascading pink blossoms tied with a golden satin ribbon — an image of youthful abundance that was enormously popular in Edwardian America. The chromolithography is exceptional, with rich saturated pinks and greens typical of Germany's finest export card printers. A handwritten sender name "Selma" appears at the lower right of the front, and the reverse bears a penned inscription "From Selma" addressed to Miss Lillie D. in Carlinville, Illinois, postmarked June 27, 1906 with a crisp Carlinville, Ill. circular date stamp.