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Inspired by a bizarre Christmas card from the Victorian era.
We in the West are living in a time where visuals are more important than the idea a picture represents. That’s why we find the Christmas cards from the Victorian era bizarre and creepy.
The tradition of sending out postcards began in 1943. We have to thank senior civil servant Sir Henry Cole for that. He designed a card for his business colleagues and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas.
Victorian bizarre
Victorians adored bizzare and often macabre oddities. It was the days of high mortality and low life expectancy. Death was not out of the ordinary and the Victorians had a morbid fascination for it. So much that they had their own death culture to cope with this situation. In this culture the portrayal of dead animals on Christmas postcards was not out of the ordinary.
Beside that they also loved their strange novelties and put a darkly humorous spin on their seasonal greetings. In 2022 my seasonal greetings were inspired by the lettering of one of those bizarre vintage postcards.
May it enjoy you.