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Father Christmas promotes Whitcombe & Tombs, 1886

Whitcombe & Tombs, Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, Cashel St, Christchurch, 1886, Lithograph, 320 x 200 mm, red on white paper, 372 x 250 mm, Printed Ephemera Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: Eph-C-PRINTING-1886-01

 

The 1880s saw an increase in the use of illustration and colour. This delightful image is the earliest advertisement in the Ephemera Collection to show the figure of Father Christmas.

The little fliers or signs fluttering around advertise the products and processes offered by this printing company: handpainted Christmas cards, picture books, hand painted pocket books, Christmas cards of New Zealand scenery, photographic albums, purses, gold and silver pencil cases.

 

The choice of red is a good one, being a colour evoking cheer, liveliness and warmth.

 

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Uploaded on October 31, 2011
Taken circa 1886