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Re: greeting cards



    For what it's worth, let me offer a random, strictly anecdotal example of
the kind of historical or cultural insight that MIGHT be gained from a
collection of greeting cards.  A number of years ago I was helping some friends
clean out an attic and we came upon a collection of greeting cards accumulated
by my friend's grandparents.  There were about 200 items, dating mostly from the
1930s and '40s.  Looking through them, I noticed that if a dog was depicted, it
frequently was one particular breed of dog.  Sorry, I didn't keep notes and
cannot give a statistical breakdown as to the number of dog vs. non-dog scenes
in the given sample, but I feel confident in saying that there clearly was a
trend favoring this breed, which indicated to me that these must have been a
very popular animal.
    The breed in question was a Scottish terrier, also known as a Scottie, and
it occurred to me that in this period, probably most Americans would have been
familiar with this breed because one of its kind happened to have a well-known
owner.  Franklin Roosevelt had a little Scottie named Fala who was often shown
in pictures with the President.  In fact Fala has been immortalized in bronze
next to a statue of the President at the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C.
    This observation is certainly not profound or history-shaking, but, from the
frequent presence of the Scottie on greeting cards, coupled with the fact that
possibly the most recognizable individual dog in the nation was a Scottie, I
feel safe in saying that during the '30s and '40s this sure was one popular
breed of dog.  If I want to stretch it, I might even say that the Scottie
achieved some sort of iconic status as _the_ household pet of the day.
    Was the Scottie so popular because FDR had one, or did FDR have one because
the Scottie was so popular?  These questions can't be answered by a collection
of greeting cards.  But I hope this suggests how greeting cards can be used as
evidence of historical trends and attitudes.  Of course every repository need to
decide whether such evidence falls within their own collection goals and
fulfills their institutional mandate.  But if greetings cards do not hold any
value for Repository A, it is likely that Repository B would love to have them.


A. H. Haeberle


____________________Reply Separator____________________
Subject:    Re: greeting cards
Author: "Skreslet; Paula" <PSkreslet@UNION-PSCE.EDU>
Date:       7/17/01 1:58 PM

I don't quite understand the thinking of the person who donated these
greeting cards.  Rob specifically stated that these were family greetings
from his children, grandchildren and wife -- no evidence of complex social
ties here.  A birthday card with a family members's signature on it?  I fail
to perceive any information value in that, now or in the distant future.
Didn't the donor realize that they may have personal significance but no
historical significance?  Was he so egotistical that he believed anything
his hands had touched was ipso facto valuable?  Or was he unaware that these
personal items were included among other papers and would be embarrassed to
find out?

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