Christmas Card Sent to Pontiac Motor Company Employee, Wilford D. Pain, 1941

01

Artifact Overview

Colorful, commercially designed greeting cards were popular in early 20th-century America--especially during the holidays. Friends and neighbors commonly exchanged cards wishing one another a Merry Christmas or Happy New Year. This example of a fashionable "trick" card appeared at first to be an authentic voucher, but contained only an expression of seasonal goodwill.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Christmas card

Date Made

1941

Subject Date

1941

Creator Notes

Made for Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors Corporation.

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

2009.35.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Margaret Pain.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Photomechanical processes

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height: 7 in (when folded in half: 3.5")
Width: 8.25 in

Inscriptions

Printed on front: Christmas Cheer / THE HOLIDAYS 1941 No. 0000 / The Bank of Good Will / Pay to the / Order of / [Handwritten in ink:] Wilford D. Pain $ 365 Days / THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE Days of Happiness / Throughout the New Year and others to come / By PONTIAC MOTOR CO., Plant 5 / [Handwritten in ink] (signed) J M Ridgeway Printed on back: This Christmas Voucher / is our token of our appreciation of your good will which has / so materially contributed to our progress.../ ... A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.