Fortune Telling Postcards by Fred C. Lounsbury
From Mystic Tea Room
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Although the cards are signed and copyrighted in the name of Fred. C. Lounsbury, it is known that he was not an artist, but employed a team of artists to produce designs for his company. The same artist -- name unknown -- drew all of the "Good Fortunes" cards. | Although the cards are signed and copyrighted in the name of Fred. C. Lounsbury, it is known that he was not an artist, but employed a team of artists to produce designs for his company. The same artist -- name unknown -- drew all of the "Good Fortunes" cards. | ||
| + | <i><b>catherine yronwode</b><br>curator, historian, and docent | ||
| + | <br><b>The Mystic Tea Room</b></i> | ||
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| + | * [[Tea Leaf Symbols in Commercial Art]] | ||
| + | * [[A Basic List of Tea Leaf Symbols]] | ||
[[File:Postcard-Fred-C.-Lounsbury-Tea-Cup-Anchor-Success-in-Business.jpg|600px|center|thumb|According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of an Anchor, it is an omen of success in business]] | [[File:Postcard-Fred-C.-Lounsbury-Tea-Cup-Anchor-Success-in-Business.jpg|600px|center|thumb|According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of an Anchor, it is an omen of success in business]] | ||
[[File:Postcard-teacup-tree-health.jpg|600px|center|thumb|According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of a Tree, it is an omen of good health]] | [[File:Postcard-teacup-tree-health.jpg|600px|center|thumb|According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of a Tree, it is an omen of good health]] | ||
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==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
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Revision as of 17:42, 25 November 2020
Fred. C. Lounsbury founded the Crescent Embossing Co. in 1896. The company's printing and embossing plant was located in Plainfield, New Jersey, and by 1910 he had offices in New York City and Philadelphia, as well as a sales representative based in Boston. Best known for his patriotic and holiday-themed chromolithographic cards, advertising folders, and calendars, Lounsbury also released several sets of fortune telling postcards in 1907 and 1908.
Each "Good Fortunes" set consists of six gold-embossed chromolitho postcards depicting lucky symbolism associated with a different type of fortune telling:
- Tea leaf reading
- Domino reading
- Dice reading
- Cartomancy with a single playing card
- Cartomancy with a hand of playing cards
Although the cards are signed and copyrighted in the name of Fred. C. Lounsbury, it is known that he was not an artist, but employed a team of artists to produce designs for his company. The same artist -- name unknown -- drew all of the "Good Fortunes" cards.
catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
The Mystic Tea Room
