Czech New Year

The lovely Czech family on the front of this card sends you hearty New Year's greetings. I also wish you a very happy New year, but I don't read or speak Czech, so I'm afraid I can't offer a translation of the message on the back.  Any input from Czech speakers out there would be greatly appreciated.

Glückliches Neues Jahr

Here are some ornate German New Year's cards. These were the cards that the Schweigert family sent to Adolf Stoltz in 1911, 1912, and 1913.  They were sent from Markirchen, Germany, which appears to be the town that Adolf emigrated from.  He settled in Lawrence, Massachusetts with his family and the Lutz family sometime around the turn of the century.

Albert Schweigert must have been a very good friend of Adolf's, because I have a lot of postcards that he sent. Adolf appears to have tried to fit them in an album of limited size, so some of the cards have been trimmed. It's a shame, but they're still beautiful.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

I won't transcribe all three cards, since they don't relay any great news. The message on the one above reads:

Dear friend I wish you and your mother a happy New Year. Everything good, everything beautiful. Heartfelt greetings from Schweigert.

Heureuse Année

More French New Year's postcards. Tomorrow I'll post some beautiful German ones.

 

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

Bonne Année

I have so many old French New Year's postcards, so I'm going to try to post as many as I can.

Here are the backs of the cards, which are almost as beautiful as the fronts.

The New Year and Clocks

There are a number of symbols that are associated with the New Year. One of my favorites is the image of a clock striking midnight. Here are some classic examples.

These cards were all produced by Raphael Tuck & Sons. Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

 

New Year's Calendars

It's hard to believe that this new year's calendar is 100 years old.

This one's from 1911.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

Happy New Year from Walter P. Smith, Mail Carrier

How I would love to get a card like this from my mail carrier!

And while we're talking about mail, here's another card that mentions the U.S. Postal service in terms of New year's Greetings.

The back of the first card is blank. here's the back of the second one.

The message sent to Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey Hawkins of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania in 1909 reads:

Dear friends

May this Xmas be a joyous one for you both. Wish you could be here with Bertha and I. We are having such a good visit. With love Emily

Happy New Year, Herr Stoltz

Adolf Stoltz moved from Markirch, Germany to Lawrence, Massachusetts. Markirch became part of France after World War I, but by then Herr Stoltz had been in Massachusetts for a number of years.
This is a card wishing Herr Stoltz a Happy New year. It was postmarked on Christmas Day, 1910.

And here's the back of the card.

The handwriting is not so tidy, and it's that awful old German script, but I was able to make some of it:

Dear Friend I wish you a Happy New Year...We received your package with joy. Thank you for that....Greetings from Schweigert Henri.

To Herr Stoltz

I have a small collection of very beautiful cards that were sent to Adolf Stoltz in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Most of the cards were sent from friends in his hometown of Markirch, Germany. The town of Markirch was located in the Alsace region of Germany, but is now part of France and known as Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines.

This card was sent on the 20th of December,1909 to wish Herr Stoltz a Happy New Year. The child on the front is carrying a giant 100 Mark note.

Here's the back of the card.

The message reads:

Your friend from home sends you a thousand greetings and kisses. Wish you and the Lutz Family good fortune and blessings in the New Year.  I hope to get a card to read soon. Work in Marckirch is very bad. Best Wishes  Georges Scherdel

According to this genealogy website for Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines, Joseph Lutz and Adele Stoltz married in June of 1899.  Adolf may have moved to the United States with them shortly thereafter.

Bonne Année with a Shadow

It's hard to celebrate the New Year with joy and abandon if you have a son, husband, brother or father fighting in a war. These French cards from World War I both show soldiers in the background. In the first one, 'The Dream', a woman envisions her husband in battle, with an angel flying above. She appears to be writing in a diary. Note the inkwell and the rolling blotter at the front of the desk.

The second portrays a hopeful boy in the basket of an air balloon, with soldiers on the field below.

Here are the backs of the cards.

Bonne Année from Les Enfants

Check out these fancy spats! These children are all dressed up to wish you a Happy New Year.

Here's the back of the second card, written from Yvonne to her Godfather to wish him a Happy New Year.

Happy New Year - and don't have so much cheek!

This card was sent exactly 100 years ago to Mrs. Jay Woodin of Cortland, New York. The name is misspelled on this card.

The message reads:
Here is hopeing for you 365 days of happiness during 1911 - also hope you will not have so much cheek as you have had in your family. E.