A Grateful Gallery of Thanksgiving Postcards

Now that Halloween has come and gone, the Christmas season is ramping up. Stores are going ham on holiday displays, and Mariah Carey is assaulting the airwaves with that godforsaken song.¹ But wait, what about Thanksgiving? We treat this oft-forgotten holiday like the ugly stepsister because it’s sandwiched between two commercialized giants full of glitz and glam. That’s unfortunate, because Thanksgiving has a lot going for it. It’s a time to reflect on what we’re grateful for, spend time with family and friends, and eat ourselves into a food coma. So, here at Totally Historic, I’m giving the holiday its due by sharing fun vintage Thanksgiving postcards.

The following gallery contains Thanksgiving snail mail from the Golden Age of Postcards (1905–1915). You’ll see lots of pumpkins, pilgrims, and pie. The postcards also portray Native Americans, although in somewhat stereotypical forms. But most of all, you’ll see turkeys galore. While there are fun images of turkeys chasing people and animals, many Thanksgiving postcards depict the birds being led to their death by hatchet or knife. Yikes. Others show turkeys dead and on display, while still others illustrate them cooked on plates, awaiting hungry feasters. How very American of us to simultaneously praise the turkey as a symbol of our national holiday and then eat it for dinner. Bon Appétit!

Thanksgiving Postcards

1909, S. Garre, Richard Veenfliet, Toronto Public Library

Circa 1909, International Art Publishing Company, Toronto Public Library

1907, Raphael Tuck & Sons, New York Public Library

Circa 1907, Ullman Manufacturing Co., Toronto Public Library

1909, S. Garre, Richard Veenfliet, Toronto Public Library

1910, H.B. Griggs, The Newberry Library

1910, H.B. Griggs, The Newberry Library

Bergman, Toronto Public Library

Circa 1910, Toronto Public Library

Circa 1910, E. Nash Company, Toronto Public Library

Gibson & Co. (Cincinnati, Ohio), Enoch Pratt Free Library

Circa 1914, Fairman Co., Toronto Public Library

Raphael Tuck & Sons, The Newberry Library

1912, J.J. Marks, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Middlebury College

Circa 1916, Toronto Public Library

Middlebury College

Circa 1910, International Art Publishing Co., Toronto Public Library

1914, Leubrie & Elkus, Enoch Pratt Free Library

H.B. Griggs, The Newberry Library

1908, The Newberry Library

Stecher Litho. Co., Enoch Pratt Free Library

H.B. Griggs, The Newberry Library

New York Public Library

Circa 1908, Toronto Public Library

1912, S. Bergman, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Circa 1908, International Art Publishing Co., Toronto Public Library

Circa 1910, Raphael Tuck & Sons, Toronto Public Library

Circa 1909, Brown and Woodley, Toronto Public Library

Fairman Co., Enoch Pratt Free Library

Circa 1909, E. Nash Company, Toronto Public Library

Circa 1911, Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., Toronto Public Library

Ellen H. Clapsaddle, International Art Publishing Co., Enoch Pratt Free Library

Circa 1910, Toronto Public Library

1910, Enoch Pratt Free Library

1911, Ellen H. Clapsaddle, Samuel Garre, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Ellen H. Clapsaddle, International Art Publishing Co., The Newberry Library

Circa 1910, Raphael Tuck & Sons, Toronto Public Library

The Newberry Library

1910, H.B. Griggs, The Newberry Library

1912, John Winsch, Toronto Public Library

Footnotes

1. If you love Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” that’s great. But I worked in a supermarket as a teenager for years, and my ears bled every Xmas season because the radio stations overplayed the song. If you think I’m being a scrooge about it, well then…Yeah, I am. Bah humbug. ↩︎

For more vintage postcards, see:

• Vintage Halloween Postcards in the Early 20th Century
• Haunted Greetings: A Gallery of Halloween Postcards
• Witch You Were Here: Witches on Halloween Postcards
• Vintage Christmas Postcards That Will Melt Your Frosty Heart