Fortune Telling Postcards by Fred C. Lounsbury

From Mystic Tea Room

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

• Tea Leaf Symbols in Commercial Art
• A Basic List of Tea Leaf Symbols

According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of an Anchor, it is an omen of success in business

According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of a Tree, it is an omen of good health

According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of a Star, it is an omen of a long and happy life

According to this 1907 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form an image of a Square, it is an omen of peace and happiness

According to this circa 1905 Fred Lounsbury postcard, when tea leaves form sn image of the Sun, it is an omen of good luck and happiness

See Also