Important Holidays: New Years

Figure 1.--This French card say "Happy New Year" in Dutch. Greeting card like this were made in many languages and often used children in dressy clothes as subjects.

New Years cards and decorations commonly pictured the old year as an old man with sythe and the new year as a young boy (never a girl) with the New Year emblazoned on a ribbon he is wearing. I'm not sure of the origins of this imagery.

French companies used to make cards for holidays and special occasions. These cards had salutations in many different languages for sale throughout Europe. Often children in dressy clothes were used as subjects on these cards. Photograph cards appeared in number after the tyurn of the cerntury as photography and printing became less expensive. These cards were particularly popular in the 1910s and inter-war years. The outfits used for the New Years cards were almost always very dressy, sailor suits, tunics, and Fauntleroy suits were common choices.