The Fine Art of NISTER Published Postcards

 

This post is devoted to Nister turn-of-the-century postcards.  Ernest Nister was born in Germany in 1842 and became a publisher known for top quality color printing and moveable books.  In the late 1800s, he had design studios in both London and Germany but all  printing was done in Germany.  Collectors of antique postcards know that the chromolithographic printing in Germany was fine quality, and "Made in Germany" on the back of old postcards is still of interest to postcard buyers.

 

I particularly enjoy the Valentines from Nister that include a busy little Cupid in a variety of settings.  The Valentine postcard that opens this post is an example.  Flat, like all the Nister postcards I have collected, the bright artwork and unusual themes (and puns) are especially appealing.  Here are two more -

 

 

 

 

 

Nister Easter postcards include some vivid designs on plain backgrounds like these two dramatic images of realistic chicks and a brown rabbit inside big colored eggs.   

   

 

Nister published books, calendars, greeting cards and poetry in addition to postcards.  With over 500 children's books appearing under the Nister name, some of the nicest Nister postcard images were originally used to illustrate these storybooks.  Since the artist's name was frequently missing, we are left attempting to identify the creators of many beautiful unsigned images. 

 

 

Above is a detail of a lovely little girl who appears in more than one Nister postcard.  Below are pretty Nister children on Christmas designs. 

 

 

 

This little girl in a striped outfit is from a series entitled Little Wanderers and the cards are signed at the bottom, L.J. Kipper.

 

Nister ceased publication in 1916.  Although not the most prolific publisher of postcards, the fine art on Nister designs make them well worth considering.

 

PRICE ESTIMATES:  Nister postcards vary widely in popularity and price.  The Little Wanderers series is, in my opinion, under-appreciated and can be had at bargain prices.

Some particularly fine images, such as the little blonde girl shown in this post, can cost much more.  The Easter and Valentine designs fall in-between and cost anywhere from about $8 - $15, depending on where you find them.  These estimates are for postcards in EXCELLENT condition, and they are only estimates.

 

 

 

Mystery Girl on Real Photo Postcards Identified

http://www.gretereinwald.blogspot.com/

Follow the link above to find a fascinating post about the lovely young girl who appears in many real photo postcards (and see the post about her in this blog)  I am delighted that someone has done the research needed to identify this popular model...

CHICKS on EASTER Fantasy Postcards

Easter postcards with animated rabbits and chicks are some of the most desirable collectible images in the holiday genre.  In this post, we show a selection of busy chicks to introduce some of the designs available.  There are many delightful postcards of chicks and rabbits performing human tasks and you are sure to find favorites of your own as you explore this fantasy category. 

The two first postcards in this post show chicks with musical themes.  The accordion player above smokes and wears a jaunty hat.  Below a chick beats a big drum to lead the group of smaller chicks that surround him.  Both postcards have nice embossing and superior artwork.  

Papa wears a fabulous outfit and Mama holds the baby while Sister, in her red pinafore, looks on.  This family of fowls wears very colorful clothing.  Below is another representative from this embossed ASB published series, marked Printed in Germany on the back.  

This embossed image of a chimney sweep and a chef chick is published by International Art and has artwork generally attributed to Clapsaddle (unsigned).   Her chicks have great personality!  While the two postcards of musical chicks that open this post were produced without any publisher identification, the similarity in artwork makes us wonder if they were not designed by Clapsaddle, too.

This colorful image is included  because of my soft spot for holiday postcards that include "modern" technology in turn-of-the-century designs.  Here we see chicks out for a ride in an open auto with bright red upholstery and a chauffeur - a fun embossed design, series 1220 from German American Novelty publishers.

An unusual dark background makes the colors on this elegant chick couple really stand out on an embossed German-published Easter postcard.  A sweet little romance for the Easter holiday.

A girl chick, proud of her Easter bonnet, pops out of a big white eggshell.  She is surrounded by pale blue snowdrops to match her holiday outfit.  Published by EAS in Germany with nice embossing.   

The last Easter postcard in this post shows more musical chicks, this time in evening clothes  and tophats.  This is a flat postcard with embossed lettering, published in Germany.  The fantasy artwork on this image is quite different from the other postcards in this post - not so cute.

PRICE ESTIMATES:  Fantasy Easter postcards range from a low of about $8-$10 for fairly simple designs or images without embossing, up to about $25-$40 for elaborate embossed,  and hard-to-find designs.   The prices have been rising, so check out this holiday category now if you are interested.  These estimates are for postcards in EXCELLENT condition, and they are only estimates.

St. Patrick's Day Postcards Tuck & Brundage

Tuck publishers in the UK created some vivid and charming St. Patrick's Day designs for postcards, and four of my favorites are included in this post.  Above, we see a lovely lady in a long blue gown, playing a harp on an embossed postcard.  Her large dog doesn't resemble Irish Wolfhounds I have known, but perhaps a viewer can inform me about this handsome animal. I especially like the way the woman's hair is blowing in the breeze as she plays by the sea.  

Here's a group of well-dressed gentlemen toasting St. Patrick's day on an embossed postcard with golden details.  The harp and shamrocks appear at lower right.

The harp in the center of the map of Ireland, Erin's Isle, combines with this fellow wearing traditional country attire.   He's offering a handful of shamrocks on this embossed postcard with strong colors.  

A great design with a shamrock "frame" surrounded by clover,  a pretty young woman with dark hair sits with shamrocks inside.  Bright, strong greens highlighted with gold and rich embossing on this postcard.

Below are two gorgeous St. Patrick's Day designs by Frances Brundage (unsigned) published with a letter 'G' logo on the back which I cannot identify.  If you can name the publishers, that would be a big help!

PRICE ESTIMATES:  St. Patrick's Day has not reached the level of popularity enjoyed by other holiday postcards, although I once heard a dealer proclaim that St. Patrick's Day was "the next Halloween" for collectors.  Halloween, however, has a wide variety of images with macabre appeal while St. Patrick's Day postcards are generally similar in color and symbols.  Prices for the above postcards range from about $5 - $7 for the Tuck images and up to $25 for the Brundage images because she is so desirable an artist.  These estimates are for postcards in EXCELLENT condition, and they are only estimates. 

GOBBI Art Deco Postcards

This post looks at some of the artist-signed D. Gobbi art deco designs on vintage postcards.  While Gobbi created a variety of art deco images, including pretty ladies in fanciful gowns, the postcards in this post are from my favorites featuring people in exotic settings and elaborate costumes.

These postcards are published in Italy by Majestic and have a matte finish.  They measure standard size, about 3.5 X 5.5 inches.  Two more Majestic published designs are shown below.  

Although not all Gobbi designs are romantic, couples embrace passionately in many of the images.  Note the elaborate patterns in the fabrics.

This is the fourth Majestic-published Gobbi postcard in this post.  There are subtle touches of gold added to the women's clothing in all four of the postcards.  The artist's signature can be seen at the lower right of the design.

The following two postcards have an Oriental theme, with lots of gold added to the images.  They are both published by Elite of Italy, and they also measure standard postcard size.

The dragon in the postcard above appears to be riding stylized waves...he is partly obscured by a flowering tree.  Gobbi's use of black adds visual drama to these two wonderful images, both with vivid colors and complex designs.

PRICE ESTIMATES:  Art Deco designs of all kinds, including sweet and simple holidays published by Whitney, are becoming more popular and pricey.  Gobbi postcards can be purchased from about $15 - $35 depending on where you find them.  These prices are for postcards in EXCELLENT condition, and they are only estimates.

Father Time & Travel NEW YEAR Postcards

This post shows a series of New Year postcards with Father Time holding a lantern beneath a midnight clock.  He appears in different settings, each featuring a mode of transportation at the turn of the century.  Nice embossing, golden details and wild winter weather add to the charm of this series, with the publisher's logo on the back, an artist's palette & brush with capital letter G.  Printed in Germany.  Series No. 303.  

Above, Father Time welcomes a horse-drawn coach with snowy luggage lashed to the roof, driver on the front seat blowing a horn.   

On this postcard, Father Time lights the way for an open red auto filled with people, one of whom blows a New Year horn.  Progress marches on in the transportation department.  Snow swirls and Father Time rings a bell hanging by the midnight clock.

Trains pass in the night with Father time at the station below the midnight clock, waving his lantern.  A fine image with smoke pouring from the green train. 

There are two images of Father Time with ships - here he leans out a lighthouse window and sees a traditional sailing ship.  Below he watches as a more modern ship passes by, flying an American flag.

The last image in this post shows Father Time still by the sea, this time with a dirigible in the snowy sky.  Snow frosts the top of the midnight clock, gold lettering as on each of the designs.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing this series, one of my favorites!

PRICE ESTIMATES:  We have paid between $8 and $30 for these cards, depending on the image and where we have found them.  The dirigible card was the most expensive.  These prices were for cards in EXCELLENT condition and you may find a wide range of prices, as we did.  

Wishing you a healthy and happy 2013 - here's to another year of enjoying deltiology together! 

Winsch CHRISTMAS Holly Mistletoe CHILDREN Postcards

This post, the last for 2012, shows a series of exceptional Christmas postcards published by John Winsch, with sweet-faced children in outfits made of holiday greenery, including evergreens, holly and mistletoe, with touches of snow and ice.  Rich embossing and bright colors make this series especially nice, but it is the delicacy and beauty of the designs that really stand out.  The artwork is sometimes attributed to Samuel Schmucker, and the quality may substantiate this.  However, we do not vouch for it, as the designs are lacking some of Schmucker's hallmark elements.  We open with a close-up of the most sought-after postcard in the series, the evergreen child with pine cones holding a golliwog.  Below we show the whole postcard.

Rather hard-to-find are the following postcards in this series, with a mistletoe girl and a holly boy sharing a kiss, and a child in snowy holly holding a heart.

Each design has its singular charm.  Teddy Bear collectors will find the following image especially appealing:

Here is the full image of the Teddy Bear postcard:

The remaining two cards in this series show a holly child pulling a wagon full of toys, and an evergreen child getting ready to throw a snowball.  

We are especially fond of this series - since we collect holiday postcards for their artistry, these are some of our very favorites. Thank you for your wonderful comments and contributions - we look forward to another year of sharing deltiology in 2013!

Price Estimates:  This series is very desirable to holiday collectors.  The prices we have seen for the cards shown here has been between $50.00 and $120.00.  These estimates are for postcards in EXCELLENT condition, and they are only estimates.