CHRISTMAS CARDS (A99)

Home Archives & Manuscripts Archive Contents CHRISTMAS CARDS (A99)

The Hon. Editor of Man, W.B. Fagg, arranged for Christmas cards to be available to Fellows from 1953 to 1962; most of them were reproductions of plates that had already appeared in Man. The only reference to cards for 1954-5 is in a letter of 19 Sep. 1957 (see 99/3/10); there is no correspondence or cards for three years unless the card at 99/9/1 is for one of these years. There are two references to these cards in Council minutes, 8 Oct. and 5 Nov. 1953 both referring to the numbers of orders received, in the latter to 4236 orders with a print order of 4500 (CM/83/1-2, Items 7a and 1 respectively).

Abbreviations

WC        William Clowes & Sons, Ltd, printers

WBF    W.B. Fagg, CMG (1914-92), Hon. Editor of Man, 1939-65

1/    1953

1    Draft notice of proposed Christmas card by WBF (autogr.)

2    Notice as circulated to Fellows inserted in Man, June issue (mimeo.)

3    Draft notice announcing ‘the response has been greater than was expected’ and giving details of rates by WBF (autogr.)

4    Notice (revised) as circulated to Fellows (mimeo.)

5    WBF’s draft (rough) instructions to the printer (autogr.)

6    WBF’s detailed instructions to the printer (autogr.)

7    WC to WBF, 30 Oct. – on complying with his instructions (tp.)

8    Card for 1953 – reproduction of the gold head from the palace of the Asantehene Kofi Kakari, now in the Wallace Collection, London

2/    1956

1    Draft notice of proposed card by WBF (autogr.)

2    R.E. Hutchison, Keeper, Scottish National Portrait Gallery to WBF, 13 July – giving permission to use “Arab Princess” for card; suggests contacting owner, Earl of Buckinghamshire (tp.)

3    Earl of Buckinghamshire to WBF, 20 July – grants permission; gives background to picture (tp.)

4    R.E. Hutchison to WBF, 13 Sep. – encloses transcription of inscription on picture, see /2/5 below (tp.)

5    Transcription of inscription on picture (tp.)

6    WC to RAI, 1 Aug. – estimate for 3000 copies (tp.)

7    WC to WBF, 11 Oct. – will follow instructions (tp.)

8    WBF’s rough details (autogr.)

9    WBF’s rough draft for printer (autogr.)

10    WBF’s final draft for printer (autogr.)

11    Card for 1956 – reproduction of an ‘Arab Princess of Zanzibar of the early seventeenth century with her Negro maid’.

3/    1957

1    WC to WBF, 3 Jan. – requests instructions on excess order of cards (tp.)

2    E. Allard to WBF, 12 Jan. – hopes he selects a design related to commemoration of Christmas day (autogr.)

3    Draft notice of proposed Christmas card by WBF (autogr.)

4    Draft notice by WBF of size and cost of card (autogr.)

5    WBF’s rough draft instructions to printer (autogr.)

6    WBF’s detailed final draft to printers (autogr.)

7    WC to WBF, 31 July – estimate of costs (tp.)

8    Ibid. – detailed breakdown of costs (tp.)

9    Ibid., 6 Sep. – schedule of production of cards (tp.)

10    RAI to WBF, 19 Sep. – gives details of back years’ cards and present quantities and costs (tp.)

11    WC to RAI, 13 Nov. – final estimates (tp.)

12    Card for 1957 – Mrs Brenda Seligman’s Benin ivory pectoral mask from Southern Nigeria

4/    1958

1    RAI to WBF, 8 Sep. – gives previous years’ cards, their quantities and costs (tp.)

2    WBF’s draft notice of proposed card; verso, a draft notice to Man contributors of instructions during his absence in Nigeria 9 Oct. to 20 Apr. 1959 (autogr.)

3    WC to WBF, 8 Oct. – will follow instructions (tp.)

4    Ibid., 10 Nov. – estimate for over-printing cards (tp.)

5    Sample card for 1958 – ancient terra-cotta head from Ife, Nigeria

5/    1959

1    WC to WBF, 26 Oct. – schedule of production (tp.)

2    Ibid., 27 Oct. – ibid. (tp.)

3    Sample card for 1959 – ‘The Snowman’ discovered in a Tibetan book by Prof. Emmanuel Vlcek

6/    1960

1    WC to RAI, 4 Aug. – estimate for 3000 cards (tp.)

2    H.E. Wadsworth to WBF, 22 Aug. – hopes for better colour reproduction (autogr.)

3    WBF’s draft description of card (autogr.)

4    Sample card with amendments by WBF (autogr.)

5    Suggested card from Dr Marion W. Smith; page proof from Man

7/    1961

1    WC to WBF, 17 July – acknowledges instructions (tp.)

2    Sample description of card (printed)

3    Selected card – The Medicine Man, Marrngitmirri, of eastern Arhnem Land, Australia (pc.)

4    WBF’s draft of card’s caption (autogr.)

8/    1962

1    Dr E.J. Lindgren to RAI, 6 Aug. – acknowledges request to use painting of her Ulan Bator violin; stipulates she must check the proposed ‘legend’ before publishing (tp.)

2    Sample print of painting

3    Ibid., of wording

4    Description of Khalkha Mongol Fiddle from Ulan Bator by Mrs Jean Lynn Jenkins, Horniman Museum (tp.)

5    Proof of card in colour

6    Note on price of cards; profit to go to the Endowment Fund

9/1    Sample card; year not known