Fortune Telling Postcards by Fred C. Lounsbury
From Mystic Tea Room
Fred. C. Lounsbury was the owner of the Crescent Embossing Co., founded in 1896. The company's printing and embossing plant was located in Plainfield, New Jersey, and by 1910, there were offices in New York City and Philadelphia, as well as a sales representative based in Boston. Best known for his patriotic and holiday-themed cards, advertising folders, and calenders, Launsbury also released several sets of fortune telling postcards in 1907 and 1908.
Each "Good Fortunes" set consists of six gold-embossed postcards depicting lucky symbolism associated with a different type of fortune telling:
- Palmistry
- Domino reading
- Dice reading
- Cartomancy with a single playing card
- Cartomancy with a hand of playing cards
- Tea leaf reading
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.