Our cheerful Holly Sprig Pin was developed from a sprightly holly bough depicted on a Mid-Twentieth-Century Christmas card in the Burdick Collection at the Metropolitan Museum. The Burdick Collection represents the life work of Jefferson R. Burdick (1900-1963), who was devoted to collecting and cataloguing trade cards and other types of paper collectibles. 24K gold overlay, hand enamelled with Swarovski™ crystals and silver-overlay accents. 2''L x 2''W.
- 24K gold overlay
- Hand enamelled Swarovski™ crystals
- Silver-overlay accents
- 2''L x 2''W
The first Christmas card was privately printed in London in 1843. In subsequent decades, the commercial production of Christmas cards became widespread in Europe and America as their exchange grew in popularity, and printing companies provided customers with thousands of varieties from which to choose. Jefferson R. Burdick (1900-1963) began collecting American ephemera when he was ten years old. So absorbed was Burdick by his passion for collecting that he devised a system for categorising trade cards that was published as the American Card Catalogue in 1939. Subsequent editions appeared every few years until 1960; his system remains in use today.