Information

[MacSarah]

My grandmother, in her youth (mid 1940's, maybe very early 50's) she worked (not sure if it was contract or full time) as a card artist for Hallmark Cards.

WHY DID I NOT ASK MORE QUESTIONS WHEN SHE WAS ALIVE, but I digress...

I ended up with a large stash of greeting cards from her possessions.  They are beautiful.  Some of them I can see similar styles to what she drew for us kids as coloring pages when we were little - but it is hard to discern if this is a stylistic assignment or her own artistry.  Some of them have her name in pencil on the back - maybe identifying them as ones she drew?

Google searches only pop results for EBay listings and Hallmark Cards.  How do I go about sourcing any information about them?  I don't want to tell the wrong story.  But, I do want to know.  I don't want to sell them.  I may find something I want to get as a tattoo.  

 I started going through them last night, it got overwhelming quickly.  I will find a better system and take some photos is you guys want to see.  What ideas do you all have?

[Tam I Am]

I'd just tell the story as you know it and what you don't know about the cards and your grandmother. 
I think it would probably be pretty hard to get info particularly that far back but I think the place to start would be contacting Hallmark.

I'd love to see the cards!!

[GinniG]

I’m interested in how you save things like that. I have a BUNCH of cards that  my parents got when I and my brothers were born. Plus the ones they sent each other. I want to save them and have them so people can look at them. But I don’t want to scrapbook them because I want them to be able to see the insides as well… 

Any ideas for this would be helpful too! 

[Tam I Am]

I’m interested in how you save things like that. I have a BUNCH of cards that  my parents got when I and my brothers were born. Plus the ones they sent each other. I want to save them and have them so people can look at them. But I don’t want to scrapbook them because I want them to be able to see the insides as well… 

Any ideas for this would be helpful too! 

Maybe get some acid-free plastic sheets like Duralar (there's one that people use for storing stamps on, I don't think it's coated for painting, so look into the different ones they have) and adhere photo corners (you can even get clear plastic ones) with the cards open then both sides can be seen. You could put those sheets in page protectors.

[Tam I Am]

@Sarah  You might find this article interesting!

But Hall also began hiring full-time painters and illustrators, from veteran fine artists to students fresh out of art school, from painters expert in depicting quaint New England villages to those who loved drawing cats.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/w ... s-artworks

[MacSarah]

I'd just tell the story as you know it and what you don't know about the cards and your grandmother. 
I think it would probably be pretty hard to get info particularly that far back but I think the place to start would be contacting Hallmark.

I'd love to see the cards!!

At least it's local!  I wonder what the reception would be.  There is a Visitor's Center downtown.  Next door is Kaleidoscope - a creative place for kids where many of the supplies are "leftovers" (dare I say scraps) from things Hallmark produces.  And Crayola art products.  The smell of melted Crayola wax is so reminiscent of my childhood.

I did find it interesting that card artists aren't necessarily credited.  I am going to look a little more into this.
 

[Tam I Am]

I'd just tell the story as you know it and what you don't know about the cards and your grandmother. 
I think it would probably be pretty hard to get info particularly that far back but I think the place to start would be contacting Hallmark.

I'd love to see the cards!!

At least it's local!  I wonder what the reception would be.  There is a Visitor's Center downtown.  Next door is Kaleidoscope - a creative place for kids where many of the supplies are "leftovers" (dare I say scraps) from things Hallmark produces.  And Crayola art products.  The smell of melted Crayola wax is so reminiscent of my childhood.

I did find it interesting that card artists aren't necessarily credited.  I am going to look a little more into this.
  

I'd take some of the cards to show them!

[MacSarah]

I’m interested in how you save things like that. I have a BUNCH of cards that  my parents got when I and my brothers were born. Plus the ones they sent each other. I want to save them and have them so people can look at them. But I don’t want to scrapbook them because I want them to be able to see the insides as well… 

Any ideas for this would be helpful too! 

One of the things I am toying with is doing an album of them.  Most are small enough to fit on a 12x12 page.  But the orientation would be wonky, some quarters of the card would be upside down.  I think that might drive me a little crazy.  I could cut them to orient correctly, but I don't know if that would be a faux pas...
I found a couple that I absolutely want to frame.  And, I could just use them as embellishments.  I could just use them as cards?!?!
I can't just hoard them though...  if I am going to define them as art they should be treated as such.  If I decide to use them, they need to get used.
Open to other ideas though!
 

[MacSarah]

@Sarah  You might find this article interesting!

But Hall also began hiring full-time painters and illustrators, from veteran fine artists to students fresh out of art school, from painters expert in depicting quaint New England villages to those who loved drawing cats.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/w ... s-artworks
 

OMGoodness - that is great.  If you ever find yourself in Kansas City it is well worth the time to check out.
 

[traveler]

I would contact Hallmark as a way to start getting more info. I would also scan the inside and outside of each card that you want to remember. Then, your choice whether to scrap the cards or the scans. I've been dealing with old documents and photos today, and I ma planning to scrap the scans and keep the originals safe in the box that they are in.

[pawprints]

This is so cool. I like the idea that someone mentioned of putting them in page protectors opened, so you can see the fronts and the insides. And I love your idea of framing some of them, maybe even do a large collage type frame of some of them together.  Oh and would love to see them!

[lisn2cats]

I'm fascinated with historyheritage info like this!!! How wonderful!

I don't know if this helps but I read an article about the Hallmark vault and you might try to reach out to Samantha Bradbeer,who is or was their historian: https://corporate.hallmark.com/about/ha ... -bradbeer/

If you have LinkedIn you can send her a message via their messenger service. I looked her up and she appears to be an adjunct instructor at Haskell Indian Nations University (sbradbeer@haskell.edu). She might be able to direct you.

[VickiR]

My grandmother, in her youth (mid 1940's, maybe very early 50's) she worked (not sure if it was contract or full time) as a card artist for Hallmark Cards.

WHY DID I NOT ASK MORE QUESTIONS WHEN SHE WAS ALIVE, but I digress...

I ended up with a large stash of greeting cards from her possessions.  They are beautiful.  Some of them I can see similar styles to what she drew for us kids as coloring pages when we were little - but it is hard to discern if this is a stylistic assignment or her own artistry.  Some of them have her name in pencil on the back - maybe identifying them as ones she drew?

Google searches only pop results for EBay listings and Hallmark Cards.  How do I go about sourcing any information about them?  I don't want to tell the wrong story.  But, I do want to know.  I don't want to sell them.  I may find something I want to get as a tattoo.  

 I started going through them last night, it got overwhelming quickly.  I will find a better system and take sooee

Does Hallmark have any kind of searchable history if you contact them?  I know that Katie Pertiet has cards with her designs on them and her name is on the back of every one of them.  I'm not sure of the company.  I can ask her if she has any ideas.