More than any other category of ephemera, greeting cards from past years survive in great numbers, often having been used in scrapbooks, or saved as personal mementos. The greeting card or "message of good will" as a personal form of communication has a long history, but emerged commercially during the 19th century, concurrent with the rise of a new and prosperous leisured middle class, the advent of reliable, efficient postal service, and new forms of mechanization in printing methods that made the mass production of color printing affordable for the first time. In America, the first leading exponent of the greeting card was German lithographer Louis Prang (1824-1909) who is credited as being the first to introduce chromolithography to the production of greeting cards in America. By the early 20th century, the foundations for a full-fledged industry had been laid with the founding of Hallmark (today, the world's largest greeting card company) in 1910. Throughout the 20th century, the variety of card themes and sentiments would evolve dramatically, from traditional annual celebrations to the acknowledgement of almost every experience in everyday life.

In the United States, the first mailable postcards appeared in 1873. These early "Postal Mailing Cards" were pre-stamped and government issued, until the Private Mailing Card Act of 1898 allowed for the independent production of postcards (called "Private Mailing Cards" until 1901, when the government first permitted privately-issued postcards to use the words "Post Card" on their reverse side). Until 1907, postcards had no "divided backs," as all messages for the addressee were allowed only on the face of the card--often in a designated message box. The advent of Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, contributed to the immense popularity of "view cards" (or "picture postcards"), which sparked a postcard-collecting craze throughout the country, reaching its zenith in 1915. Following World War I, the postcard industry (previously dominated by German production) flourished in the United States, with millions of postcards produced, mailed, and collected annually. Today, postcards from the past continue to fascinate us, offering a compelling window into topographical and social history.

The postcards in this series have been arranged thematically with subject titles assigned by the collector. Place Banner postcards are arranged alphabetically by city.

While the concept of advertising "trade cards" dates back to the 1700s, it was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the development of trade cards gained great popularity in the United States, due in large part to advancements in affordable color printing (chromolithography). In the 1870s, the lithographer and printer Louis Prang was influential in popularizing the idea of cheaply mass-producing such cards for the needs of the advertising trade. Sometimes inserted into packages, they served as an effective means of advertising goods and services (similar to today's business cards), and had the additional appeal of offering the consumer a collectable giveaway item. Trade cards were often produced in a numbered series of related images (such as the Sollers & Co. full set in this collection) that could be incorporated into artistic crafts and scrapbooks. By the beginning of the 20th century, the production of trade cards fell into gradual disuse with the increasing prevalence of advertising in magazines and newspapers.

This series also includes a complete set of John F. Kennedy trading cards, issued by Topps in 1964. The set includes 77 cards with a large black and white photo on the front and a short caption describing the image on the back. Images depict Kennedy as President and as family man, relaxing with his wife Jackie and kids Caroline and John.

This series of trade cards was received from the collector in three-ring binders and later disbound and rehoused. Both the collector's category titles and order of binder contents have been maintained in the series list below.

With the introduction of the first practical fountain pens during the 1880s, card blotters were a popular and practical novelty giveaway item by many businesses. Once as ubiquitous as today's business cards, advertising blotters stood ever-ready by the home phone, or on the desk, as a reminder of goods and services offered. Their designs (which often featured monthly calendars) ranged from the traditional promotion of retailers, banks, and insurance companies, to risque pinup art. By the 1950s, the increasing popularity of ballpoint pens led to a gradual end to this advertising trend.

A variation of the cigarette card, cigarette silks served as promotional giveaways included in cigarette packaging of the early 20th century. Highly collectable in their time, they were printed in various thematic series (birds, butterflies, actresses, etc.) of 25 or more, instigating repeat purchases of the same brand. Cigarette silks had particular marketing appeal to women, who would often incorporate them into decorative household items, such as quilts, pillows, and table coverings.

Commercial needle books (or packets) began to be manufactured in the early 19th century, in the Redditch District of central England. By the mid 19th century, needle-making machinery had fully mechanized production, and needle book graphics became increasingly elaborate. Like trade cards, they served as portable forms of advertising for various goods and services, often emphasizing domestic and travel-related imagery.

Product Labels: While the practice of utilizing printed labels is as old as printing itself, modern package design did not begin to evolve until after the Civil War when advancements in printing, paper production and chromolithography made the affordable mass production of elaborate and colorful designs possible. By 1900, chromolithography would reach its zenith, prompting some to call the latter half of the 19th century the period of "chromo-civilization." Included here are various examples of how printed labels were utilized for packaging, identification, and instructive purposes, displaying a fascinating compendium of design styles and influences reflective of their eras.

Hatbox Labels: The modern hatbox (a derivative of the Victorian bandbox) was a frequent item found among the possessions of both men and women well into the mid 20th century, when the wearing of hats was customary for all occasions. As a valued accessory, it was a standard practice for hats to be sold with hatboxes for their protection. These boxes (commonly made of sturdy pasteboard and decorative paper), came adorned with an elegant label displaying the name of the manufacturer or department store where purchased, along with a convenient carrying strap. In this way, the box transcended its practicality by serving as a portable form of status and advertising for both the owner and the retailer. Perhaps because of their usefulness as physical containers, attractive packaging, and the sentiment attached to them as objects of value, many hatboxes have survived among families over several generations and continue to be utilized and collected for a variety of purposes.

Luggage Labels: Luggage labels, with their elegant graphics featuring exotic locals, luxury modes of transportation, and grand hotels, bear witness to the "Golden Age of Travel," a period which spanned the late 19th century to the outbreak of World War II. Affixed to luggage by railroad companies, steamships, hotels, and resorts, they provided the practical means of identifying luggage destination, but also served as romantic advertisements for the destinations themselves. For the traveler, such labels were a sign of personality, taste and status, and over the course of years, their accumulation provided an autobiographical history of places visited, hotels stayed in, and transportation used. A remnant of past places and times, they beautifully evoke the spirit of this bygone era.

Please Remit: The economic prosperity of the 1950s, spurred by the growth of commercial advertising and the introduction of the modern credit card, gave way to unprecedented consumer optimism and spending, as more and more Americans embraced the ease and convenience of "putting it on plastic" as a way to pay for purchases. For many collection agencies, a useful aid in collecting debts was the "Please Remit" notice, inserted into billing envelopes as a way to cajole payments from debtors after two or three months of unpaid bills. Today these "friendly reminders" provide a nostalgic look at the mores and manners of an earlier time.

Glassine paper, a smooth and semitransparent glazed, greaseproof and leak resistant product, was developed in 1905 and soon became adapted as an ideal packaging material for fast foods and snacks. In 1908, the Milwaukee Printing Company developed a method of printing on glassine paper, and these printed bags and wrappers (often with lively typeface and engaging graphics) became a standard feature at American concession stands, for such fare as hamburgers, peanuts, and ice cream bars.

Hairnets (once known as "cauls," or "snoods") have been used in various forms since ancient times, serving both utilitarian and decorative purposes. While initially constructed of materials such as silk and ribbon, the first commercial reference to hairnets made of human hair appeared in July, 1863, as an editorial feature in Peterson's Magazine (Vol. XLIV, No. 1). By 1914, the hairnet was a common hair accessory for women, and over the ensuing years became increasingly promoted for use in the nursing and food service professions. The emancipated bobbed hairstyles of the 1920s brought a temporary decline in the use of hairnets. Their popularity was revived by World War II, a period which saw the return of longer hairstyles and the entrance of women into the industrial workforce. Further refinements to hairnet manufacturing included the introduction of Du Pont's multifilament nylon yarn in 1940, offering unprecedented resiliency and wear.

The invention of transfer decals, attributed to the French engraver Simon François Ravenet (a process he coined "decalquer" or "to copy by tracing"), originated in England in the mid 18th century, initially as a method by which to transfer decorative designs to pottery using engraved copper plates and tissue paper. Over the course of the 19th century, a variety of advancements in technology such as lithography, the paper making machine, and the invention of duplex paper, made the affordable mass production of decals possible. The introduction of silk screen printing in the early 20th century allowed a top-coat or cover-coat of lacquer to be added to the decal design (so-called water-mount decals) which could be transferred when wet.

Introduced to the United States by approximately 1865, the demand for decals reached its zenith in the 1870s resulting in what came to be called "decalcomania." Decals remain popular today offering an inexpensive way to decorate and enhance a variety of objects and surfaces.

Greeting Cards, Postcards, and Sheet Music

Ration Books and OPA Points: In August, 1941, President D. Roosevelt created the Office of Price Administration (OPA) in order to regulate both the purchase and cost of consumer goods during a period of severely limited imports and wartime shortages. By the spring of 1942, the first of 4 series of War Ration Books and stamps or "points" were issued to each American family. The program served as a way to promote the "fair share of certain goods made short by war," and carefully control the amount of foods, necessities, and luxuries any one person could buy. For the average citizen, such daily sacrifice represented a challenging but essential and patriotic contribution to the American war effort.

Army Navy Hit Kit Songs: In 1941, a Sub-Committee on Music was established by the Joint Army and Navy Committee on Welfare and Recreation to advise the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps on matters relating to musical activities and entertainment for servicemen both in and outside military camps and reservations from 1941-1946. A popular part of this program began in 1943 with the monthly issuing of pamphlet-size songbooks called "Army Navy Hit Kits" containing the lyrics and music of popular songs of the period, including both "Hit Parade" and patriotic-themed songs. Important morale boosters during the war years, Hit Kit pamphlets, issued by the War Department's Special Services Division, were available only to military personnel and not for sale to the general public.

U.S. War Department Photographs: 47 linen-backed captioned training photographs (from a pre-World War II US War Department Federal Binder) by US Army Signal Corps of US Field Artillery Pack Units (4th, 97th, 98th and 99th Battalions), showing training for combat at US Bases in 1941-1942.

Smilin' Jack Bubblegum Cards: Full, uncut set of 128 Smilin' Jack bubblegum cards with "Buy War Bonds & Stamps for Victory" on verso. This set is based on the 1943 movie serial, and the aviation comic strip (also 1943).

Posters: During World War II, American government officials successfully harnessed the use of propaganda through the poster medium in an effort to mobilize the nation towards a united and urgent support for the war effort and American victory. A major function of the Office of War Information (OWI), created in 1942, was responsibility for controlling the content and imagery of war posters, and ensuring their monthly distribution and promotion across the nation. Drawing from the powerful and persuasive stylistic conventions of the advertising industry, American home front posters embraced American consciousness with themes that emphasized the nature of the enemy, the nature of the allies, the need to work, fight, and sacrifice, and the need to protect the principles of American freedom.

See also: Greeting Cards, Postcards, Sheet Music, and Posters

Ration Books and OPA Points: In August, 1941, President D. Roosevelt created the Office Price Administration (O.P.A.) in order to regulate both the purchase and cost of consumer goods during a period of severely limited imports and wartime shortages. By the spring of 1942, the first of 4 series of War Ration Books and stamps or "points" were issued to each American family. The program served as a way to promote the "fair share of certain goods made short by war," and carefully control the amount of foods, necessities, and luxuries any one person could buy. For the average citizen, such daily sacrifice represented a challenging but essential and patriotic contribution to the American war effort.

Army Navy Hit Kit Songs: In 1941, a Sub-committee on Music was established by the Joint Army and Navy Committee on Welfare and Recreation to advise the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps on matters relating to musical activities and entertainment for servicemen both in and outside military camps and reservations from 1941-1946. A popular part of this program began in 1943 with the monthly issuing of pamphlet-size songbooks called "Army Hit Kits" containing the lyrics and music of popular songs of the period, including both "Hit Parade" and patriotic-themed songs. Important moral boosters during the war years, Hit Kit pamphlets, issued by the War Department's Special Services Division, were available only to military personnel and not for sale to the general public.

Photographs: 47 linen-backed captioned training photographs (from a pre-WWII US War Department Federal Binder), by US Army Signal Corps of US Field Artillery Pack Units (4th, 97th, 98th and 99th Battalions), showing training for combat at US Bases in 1941-1942.

Smilin' Jack Bubblegum Cards: Full, uncut set of 121 Smilin' Jack bubble gum cards, Buy War Bonds & Stamps for Victory, based on the 1943 movie serial, and the aviation comic strip (also 1943).

The invention of linoleum, a name coined from the Latin words "linum" (flax) and "oleum" (oil), was patented in England in 1860 by Frederik Walton, a rubber manufacturer, who founded the first linoleum company in 1864. By the end of the decade, linoleum was introduced to the United States, with the first US-based production beginning in 1874. Affordable, attractive, and resilient, as well as naturally bactericidal, flame and scratch-resistant, linoleum became a favorite surface material in American homes and hospitals, offering vibrant colors and myriad of creative patterns that included imitation marble, stone, mosaics, and faux carpeting designs. Lighter gauge linoleum was also created for use on walls, including Lincrusta (Lincrusta-Walton), Linowall (Armstrong), and Sealex Wall-Covering and Congowall (Congoleum).

By the 1930s, Armstrong was the largest manufacturer of linoleum in the America, offering consumers hundreds of patterns from which to choose. Linoleum manufacturers published "pattern books" to advertise their designs, and offered homemakers free booklets with illustrated advice for incorporating linoleum into their interior decorating schemes.

In the years following World War II, the introduction of cheaper PVC (vinyl) flooring brought the use of linoleum into sharp decline. Today, patterned linoleum is enjoying renewed popularity as a "green" recyclable flooring alternative that is environmentally friendly and biodegradable.

The sheet music found in this collection spans over a century, from 1842-1948. Today, sheet music is a particularly valuable form of ephemera, with its text and pictorial covers offering keen insight into contemporary pastimes and the societal and racial attitudes of their eras. In the 1840s, such pictorial covers were characterized by simple black and white designs often incorporating ornamental scrollwork and simple lettering, and were commonly reproduced with woodcuts, steel engraving, and lithography. Advances in color printing technology (chromolithography) by the end of the 19th century brought about an increased focus on illustrated covers, which became a successful vehicle for commercial artists. As the Industrial Revolution gave rise to prosperity and the growth of the middle classes, Americans found themselves with increased time for leisure activities, which included the home piano as a popular form of entertainment. In America, the production and popularity of sheet music would reach its heyday in the late 19th century, with the rise of Tin Pan Alley and the American music publishing industry. Over the ensuing decades, demand for sheet music would gradually lessen in importance with the introduction of the phonograph and radio, and the advent of the record industry.

The thematic groups in the series list below were previously arranged by the collector, with category titles assigned by N-YHS. The remaining sheet music in the collection has been arranged by decade.

World War II Ephemera (various formats)

Postmortem Photography: More than any other form of pictorial representation, photography is inextricably tied to remembrance and its invention forever changed the way we relate with and document our world. Following closely on the heels of photography's introduction was the practice of postmortem photography, which, after 1841, spread across America becoming prevalent in both urban and rural areas, and remained culturally embraced well into the early 20th century. From 1840-1880, the majority of postmortem images were taken within the private home, where the body was posed naturalistically. While sometimes depicted as if alive and awake, very often the deceased were shown as if to be sleeping peacefully rather than dead, an illusion that gently denies death, while at the same time serving to beautify, soften, and romanticize it. By the latter 19th century, with the rise of the funeral and embalming industries, straightforward full length "casket photographs" became very popular, focusing less on the individual, and more on the social aspect of the funeral event or funeral parlor setting (where the corpse was often upstaged by profuse floral arrangements).

Today these images serve as culturally bound artifacts that provide a trace of the sociocultural importance that such image making had for their producers and users. Photographs of a deceased loved one functioned as icons, substitutes, and reminders of loss. Most importantly, they captured memory by recording for posterity a lasting image of the deceased.

Salamagundi Club, NYC, May 5, 1945: Mounted black and white photograph of the 75th Anniversary Special Exhibition Dinner of the Salamagundi Club, which includes 55 well-known New York artists and their works hanging on the background walls. The Salamagundi Club (also known as the Salamagundi Art Club) was founded in 1871 and still remains active today with (as of 2009) over 800 members.

Gansevoort and West Washington Markets, NYC, 1903: Embossed, mounted black and white photograph of the Gansevoort and West Washington Markets, showing a multitude of vendors, wagons, goods, and commercial oyster bars.

This series consists of a range of flyers and advertisment postcards outlining upcoming exhibitions at OK Harris, and a variety of prints and posters exhibited at O.K. Harris from the establishment of the gallery in 1969 to its close in 2014.