Annotated Bibliography
Chase, Ernest Dudley. The Romance of Greeting Cards. Cambridge: University Press, 1956.
This is one of only two major texts written on Greeting Cards. Although it was written in 1956, it is a comprehensive overview of the development of the industry and includes highlights of each major contributer to the field. Chase lovingly chronicles the history of Greeting Cards and includes pictures of some early examples of the craft.
Cheney, Lynne. “You Can Thank Louis Prang for All Those Cards.” Smithsonian 8 (December 1977): 120–125.
In this short article from 1977, Lynne Cheney discusses Louis Prang's involvement in the development of Christmas Cards. She includes images of some of Prang's cards and interesting details about his life before Greeting Cards.
“Chromolithography”, n.d. http://www.johngrossmancollection.com/id13.html.
Chromolithography is the major technology that launched the Greeting Card industry. The John Grossman collection includes Chromolithographic images as well as a detailed description of the chromolithography process.
Gaffney, Dennis. “Chromolithography: Bringing Color to the Masses | Tips of the Trade | Antiques Roadshow | PBS”, n.d. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/chromolithography.html.
PBS' antiques roadshow contributor Dennis Gaffney gives a brief overview of chromolithography. He includes references to Louis Prang and detailed instructions on how to spot good chromolithographs.
“Greeting Card History”, n.d. http://www.greetingcard.org/AbouttheIndustry/History/tabid/72/Default.aspx.
The Greeting Card Association website is a wealth of information on the inudstry as a whole. They do have one page dedicated to the history of Greeting Cards.
“Hallmark Corporate Information | Hallmark History”, n.d. http://corporate.hallmark.com/Company/Company-History.
Hallmark greetings is one of the only 2 major Greeting Card corporations left in the United States. While other sources have documented Hallmark's history, they tell their own story on their corporate website.
“History - American Greetings”, n.d. http://corporate.americangreetings.com/aboutus/history.html.
American Greetings is one of 2 major Greeting Card retailers left in the United States. Thier website contains a wealth of information about the company including a detailed timeline of the company's history.
Hotchkiss, Vivian. “Greeting Card Museum-Virtual Museum”, n.d. http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/museum.html.
This is the most comprehensive Greeting Card history site on the internet. It is an online museum of Greeting Cards. The site contains hundreds of images of cards from various times and publishers. The historical sections are well researched and provide an excellent overview.
Johnson, Donald-Brian. “Just an Old Christmas Card.” Antiques and Collecting Magazine, December 2008.
Donald-Brian Johnson provides a historical overview of the Christmas Card in this 2008 article. He discusses both English and American cards and includes many pictures of the cards he describes.
Karl, Michele. Greetings with Love: The Book of Valentines. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 2003.
This lovely little book describes the history of valentines and includes hundreds of pictures of various valentines throughout the years. Although some of the text is superfluous and "filler" material, it is visually beautiful.
“Kate Greenaway”, n.d. http://www.kategreenawaycards.com/content/view/34/66/.
This website is dedicated to the art of Kate Greenaway. It includes a historical overivew of her work and many pictures of her illustrations and card art.
Levy, David M. Scrolling Forward: Making Sense of Documents in the Digital Age. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2001.
Levy's book served as the inspiration for this project. He stated that there are not many resources on Greeting Cards, and he is quite right. In his book, there is an 11 page section discussing Greeting Cards as human records.
“Louis Prang & Company Chromolithographs - a Set on Flickr”, n.d. http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157623875015275/with/4881719653/.
The Boston Public Library has a large collection of Louis Prang Chromolithographs. They have more than 1,500 chromolithographs as well as other images by Prang. This flickr set includes images of all the chromolithographs held by the BPL.
Nolan, M. Therese. “The Editor’s Desk.” Antiques and Collecting Magazine, February 2008.
Antiques and Collecting Magazine has featured greeting cards and post cards as subject matter. The editor of the Feburary 2008 edition gives an overview of the greeting card material presented in that issue.
O’Donnell, Anne Stewart. “Greetings from the 20th Century: Or How the Arts & Crafts Movement Helped Launch a Billion Dollar Worldwide Industry.” Style 1900 16.4 (Fall-Winter 2003): 48–55.
In this 2003 article, Anne Stewart O'Donnell discusses the Arts and Crafts movement and its effects on the Greeting Card industry. She focuses on Rust Craft cards in particular, but gives a good overal view of Greeting Card history.
Robinson, Scott. “Esther Allen Howland”, n.d. http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/finearts/drawing/greeting/howland.htm.
The Robinson Library is an online library maintained by Scott Robinson. Scott writes on a variety of topics of interest and then shares his research via this online forum.
Shank, Barry. A Token of My Affection: Greeting Cards and American Business Culture. New York: Colombia Press, 2004.
This is the only other major book on Greeting Cards and was published in 2004. Barry Shank provides an indepth look at the Greeting Card industry in american business culture and focuses on how the industry has changed over the years. Although a bit technical at times, it is an excellent resource.
“The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal”, n.d. http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/.
Kate Greenaway's work was so important that a medal in her honor is given each year by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The website provides a list of current and past winners as well as historical information about Kate.
“Valentines | Antique Valentines | History of Valentines”, n.d. http://www.victoriana.com/VictorianValentine/valentinestributetolove.htm.
Victoriana is an online magazine about Victorian style living. There are a variety of articles on Victorian items, including a detailed article on Victorian Valentines. The article includes pictures of many valentines of the era.
This is one of only two major texts written on Greeting Cards. Although it was written in 1956, it is a comprehensive overview of the development of the industry and includes highlights of each major contributer to the field. Chase lovingly chronicles the history of Greeting Cards and includes pictures of some early examples of the craft.
Cheney, Lynne. “You Can Thank Louis Prang for All Those Cards.” Smithsonian 8 (December 1977): 120–125.
In this short article from 1977, Lynne Cheney discusses Louis Prang's involvement in the development of Christmas Cards. She includes images of some of Prang's cards and interesting details about his life before Greeting Cards.
“Chromolithography”, n.d. http://www.johngrossmancollection.com/id13.html.
Chromolithography is the major technology that launched the Greeting Card industry. The John Grossman collection includes Chromolithographic images as well as a detailed description of the chromolithography process.
Gaffney, Dennis. “Chromolithography: Bringing Color to the Masses | Tips of the Trade | Antiques Roadshow | PBS”, n.d. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/chromolithography.html.
PBS' antiques roadshow contributor Dennis Gaffney gives a brief overview of chromolithography. He includes references to Louis Prang and detailed instructions on how to spot good chromolithographs.
“Greeting Card History”, n.d. http://www.greetingcard.org/AbouttheIndustry/History/tabid/72/Default.aspx.
The Greeting Card Association website is a wealth of information on the inudstry as a whole. They do have one page dedicated to the history of Greeting Cards.
“Hallmark Corporate Information | Hallmark History”, n.d. http://corporate.hallmark.com/Company/Company-History.
Hallmark greetings is one of the only 2 major Greeting Card corporations left in the United States. While other sources have documented Hallmark's history, they tell their own story on their corporate website.
“History - American Greetings”, n.d. http://corporate.americangreetings.com/aboutus/history.html.
American Greetings is one of 2 major Greeting Card retailers left in the United States. Thier website contains a wealth of information about the company including a detailed timeline of the company's history.
Hotchkiss, Vivian. “Greeting Card Museum-Virtual Museum”, n.d. http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/museum.html.
This is the most comprehensive Greeting Card history site on the internet. It is an online museum of Greeting Cards. The site contains hundreds of images of cards from various times and publishers. The historical sections are well researched and provide an excellent overview.
Johnson, Donald-Brian. “Just an Old Christmas Card.” Antiques and Collecting Magazine, December 2008.
Donald-Brian Johnson provides a historical overview of the Christmas Card in this 2008 article. He discusses both English and American cards and includes many pictures of the cards he describes.
Karl, Michele. Greetings with Love: The Book of Valentines. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 2003.
This lovely little book describes the history of valentines and includes hundreds of pictures of various valentines throughout the years. Although some of the text is superfluous and "filler" material, it is visually beautiful.
“Kate Greenaway”, n.d. http://www.kategreenawaycards.com/content/view/34/66/.
This website is dedicated to the art of Kate Greenaway. It includes a historical overivew of her work and many pictures of her illustrations and card art.
Levy, David M. Scrolling Forward: Making Sense of Documents in the Digital Age. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2001.
Levy's book served as the inspiration for this project. He stated that there are not many resources on Greeting Cards, and he is quite right. In his book, there is an 11 page section discussing Greeting Cards as human records.
“Louis Prang & Company Chromolithographs - a Set on Flickr”, n.d. http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157623875015275/with/4881719653/.
The Boston Public Library has a large collection of Louis Prang Chromolithographs. They have more than 1,500 chromolithographs as well as other images by Prang. This flickr set includes images of all the chromolithographs held by the BPL.
Nolan, M. Therese. “The Editor’s Desk.” Antiques and Collecting Magazine, February 2008.
Antiques and Collecting Magazine has featured greeting cards and post cards as subject matter. The editor of the Feburary 2008 edition gives an overview of the greeting card material presented in that issue.
O’Donnell, Anne Stewart. “Greetings from the 20th Century: Or How the Arts & Crafts Movement Helped Launch a Billion Dollar Worldwide Industry.” Style 1900 16.4 (Fall-Winter 2003): 48–55.
In this 2003 article, Anne Stewart O'Donnell discusses the Arts and Crafts movement and its effects on the Greeting Card industry. She focuses on Rust Craft cards in particular, but gives a good overal view of Greeting Card history.
Robinson, Scott. “Esther Allen Howland”, n.d. http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/finearts/drawing/greeting/howland.htm.
The Robinson Library is an online library maintained by Scott Robinson. Scott writes on a variety of topics of interest and then shares his research via this online forum.
Shank, Barry. A Token of My Affection: Greeting Cards and American Business Culture. New York: Colombia Press, 2004.
This is the only other major book on Greeting Cards and was published in 2004. Barry Shank provides an indepth look at the Greeting Card industry in american business culture and focuses on how the industry has changed over the years. Although a bit technical at times, it is an excellent resource.
“The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal”, n.d. http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/.
Kate Greenaway's work was so important that a medal in her honor is given each year by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The website provides a list of current and past winners as well as historical information about Kate.
“Valentines | Antique Valentines | History of Valentines”, n.d. http://www.victoriana.com/VictorianValentine/valentinestributetolove.htm.
Victoriana is an online magazine about Victorian style living. There are a variety of articles on Victorian items, including a detailed article on Victorian Valentines. The article includes pictures of many valentines of the era.