8 Rare Antique Christmas Postcards Brown & Blue Santas, Exceptional Xmas Scenes For Sale

An unusually imaginative collection of Christmas postcards from an era when Santa could wear brown, blue or olive, pine-cone people made toys, children raided Santa’s sack, and three wise crows sang Christmas carols. A wonderfully difficult group to duplicate card-for-card.This is not a typical lot of red-suited Santa postcards.The collection includes brown- and olive-robed Father Christmas figures, a blue-toned Santa portrait, an extraordinary pine-cone toy maker, children enthusiastically rummaging through Santa’s toy sack, and three “Wise Crows” dressed for Christmas. Together, they show just how varied and imaginative Christmas imagery could be before the modern image of Santa became so standardized.Several of the cards are from well-known postcard publishers or identifiable series, making this especially appealing to collectors of Santa Claus, Raphael Tuck, John Winsch, German postcards, Christmas ephemera, and Golden Age postcards.One of the strongest cards is the Raphael Tuck & Sons brown-coated Santa “Merry Christmas Greetings”, showing Santa among snowy evergreens, large gilt bells, and a winter farmhouse vignette. This design is associated with Tuck Christmas Series 102 and dates to the early 1900s.Another exceptional card is the wonderfully strange Raphael Tuck & Sons Oilette C-1883 “A Merry Christmas” Pine-Cone person painting toy animals in the snow. The “C-1883” appears to be a series or stock number rather than a date. This design is known as part of Tuck’s Pine-Cone People imagery from the early 1900s.Also included is the beautiful John Winsch “Christmas Wishes” poinsettia woman, with a dramatic red poinsettia costume and rich decorative background. The card itself is marked Copyright John Winsch, 1910.Another postcard is marked B.W. 291, Printed in Germany, representing an early European-produced Christmas issue. Based on its style and postal markings, it appears to be early 20th century.Another standout depicts Santa seated beside a Christmas tree while children rummage through his toy sack, giving the card a humorous, almost mischievous quality that is very different from the usual formal Santa portraits.The whimsical “Christmas is Here – Three Wise Crows Sat on a Tree” card adds another completely different style, with dressed-up crows and a Christmas verse. This example appears to be somewhat later than the earliest cards in the lot, likely from the 1920s.What makes this group special is not simply its age, but the combination of recognized makers, unusual Santa colors, Old World Father Christmas imagery, fantasy figures, comic Christmas scenes, and original postal history.It would be difficult to recreate this exact mix card-for-card.These would look outstanding framed together in a Christmas gallery wall, shadow box, antique frame grouping, traditional home, Victorian-inspired room, or holiday display.They would also make a memorable gift for someone who collects Santa Claus, antique postcards, Christmas history, or unusual holiday imagery.These are genuine antique and vintage postcards, not modern reproductions.Condition varies and includes age-related wear such as corner and edge wear, toning, foxing, creases, surface wear, stains, handwriting, stamps, and postal cancellation marks.Some cards were mailed and retain their original postal history; others were not used.Please examine all photographs carefully. The photos show the actual eight cards included and are an important part of the condition description.Collection detailsQuantity: 8 original Christmas postcards
Era: Primarily early 1900s, with at least one likely dating into the 1920s
Publishers/series represented: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Oilette, John Winsch, Pink Perfection, B.W. Printed in Germany, and others
Themes: Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Christmas fantasy, toys, children, birds/crows, winter scenes
Postage: Mix of posted and unposted cards
Original/Reproduction: Original period postcards
Sold as: One complete collection of 8