Winsch CHRISTMAS Holly Mistletoe CHILDREN Postcards

This post, the last for 2012, shows a series of exceptional Christmas postcards published by John Winsch, with sweet-faced children in outfits made of holiday greenery, including evergreens, holly and mistletoe, with touches of snow and ice.  Rich embossing and bright colors make this series especially nice, but it is the delicacy and beauty of the designs that really stand out.  The artwork is sometimes attributed to Samuel Schmucker, and the quality may substantiate this.  However, we do not vouch for it, as the designs are lacking some of Schmucker's hallmark elements.  We open with a close-up of the most sought-after postcard in the series, the evergreen child with pine cones holding a golliwog.  Below we show the whole postcard.

Rather hard-to-find are the following postcards in this series, with a mistletoe girl and a holly boy sharing a kiss, and a child in snowy holly holding a heart.

Each design has its singular charm.  Teddy Bear collectors will find the following image especially appealing:

Here is the full image of the Teddy Bear postcard:

The remaining two cards in this series show a holly child pulling a wagon full of toys, and an evergreen child getting ready to throw a snowball.  

We are especially fond of this series - since we collect holiday postcards for their artistry, these are some of our very favorites. Thank you for your wonderful comments and contributions - we look forward to another year of sharing deltiology in 2013!

Price Estimates:  This series is very desirable to holiday collectors.  The prices we have seen for the cards shown here has been between $50.00 and $120.00.  These estimates are for postcards in EXCELLENT condition, and they are only estimates.