Christmas Cards Mini-Exhibit | July 2023

Step back in time to the late 19th century as we share 20 charming and often strange Christmas greetings exchanged during the Victorian era. John James Audubon’s great-grandson, Leonard Sanford Tyler (1881-1928), and his family collected these cards between 1880 and 1910. Some cards highlight the whimsical nature of Victorian Christmas cards, depicting anthropomorphic animals engaged in merry celebrations. See frogs boxing and playing on a seesaw, a rabbit playing a trumpet, and an owl leading a procession of three foxes carrying a roasted turkey and silverware. These peculiar scenes capture the Victorian desire to add humor to festive greetings. You will also encounter cards that feature bizarre and fantastical scenes, such as fairies fighting a battle with icicles and Santa Claus waving at a tree full of pigeons and turkeys on his way down a chimney. Maybe this exhibit will inspire you to be like the Victorians and add more humor and imagination to your Christmas cards this year!

For more information on the mini-exhibit, contact museum curator Heidi Taylor-Caudill at heidi.taylorcaudill@ky.gov.