History of Leeds in Christmas Cards

Dear readers – enjoy this gift of a view through history with 10 Christmas Cards from the Leeds Museums and Galleries Collection. Merry Christmas!

Pre-1900s

1800s - LEEAG.1980.0011.0009 – The tradition of Christmas cards as we know them today started in the Victorian 1840s, when the introduction of the postage stamp made sending letters easier, faster and cheaper. The first Christmas cards celebrated family gatherings and gift-giving, a theme still seen to this day.

This card from the late 1800s was sent from Leeds artist John Atkinson Grimshaw to his family, with the hand-written message “God bless all my dear ones, Papa” on the reverse. Grimshaw’s masterful “moonlight” paintings are currently on display at Leeds Art Gallery as part of the Don’t Let’s Ask For the Moon: Nocturnes and Atkinson Grimshaw exhibition.

1900s

1905 - LEEDM.E.2010.0455.0018 – The man photographed here is George “Bertie” Robinson, who wrote this card from Harewood House in 1905: “From B. Robinson, Harewood House, Xmas 1905”.

Robinson was born in St. Vincent, a country in the Caribbean, in 1879. The British Empire colonised the island in the 1700s, displacing the native Carib people and transporting over enslaved African people. The African slaves were forced to work at plantations to grow crops for the British to make money from. Even after the enslaved people were given freedom in 1838, many slave owners from the British Empire were still rich and many enslaved people in the Caribbean were still poor.

The Lascelles family of Harewood House owned four plantations in Barbados. According to a family member’s account of a story told by the Earl and Countess, on an 1893 trip to the Caribbean to visit their plantations, an old black woman left them with a “very young child.” This was Bertie, who travelled to England to work for Harewood House when he was just 13. He worked there as a footman for 30 years, during which time he would have written this Christmas card.

1910s

1914 - LEEDM.E.2012.0628 – This Christmas card isn’t a card at all – it’s a biscuit! When England went to war in 1914, soldiers hoped that the war would be over by Christmas and they could return to their families. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and they spent that year’s Christmas in the trenches, sending greetings back home any way that they could – including, in several cases, painted on biscuits.

This stale ration biscuit took on a new purpose in “Wishing you a merry Xmas & a bright new year” and is glazed and framed to preserve it and keep it safe. However, it’s not the only one of its kind in the collection – another festive biscuit from the trenches is still preserved in the wrapping it was sent home in.

1920s - 30s

LEEDM.E.1973.0111.0003.4 – In a monochrome woodcut print with thin line-hatching, this card shows a coastal scene with cliffs and clear skies, a location which may have been a holiday destination in better weather. The printed text below reads: “In hard winter- Remember the summer.” Many people who lost their jobs in the Great Depression of the 1930s, when this card was sent, would have been struggling through hard times and hoping for better days.

The vendor, Mr. William Witts, also printed and published the Bramley Weekly Advertiser newspaper. His printing press is on display at the Leeds Industrial Museum.

1940s – 50s

1944 - LEEDM.E.2012.0121.0060 – Through the years of World War II, the Lord Mayor would send greetings from Leeds to the city’s soldiers fighting overseas. This card from 1944 includes photos of Leeds landmarks (like the pictured Kirkstall Abbey) to remind the soldiers of home and to wish them a safe homecoming.

This card was sent to Mr. Cyril Manning, who served in the Royal Air Force as a Leading Aircraftman. Before the war, Manning attended Roundhay School alongside his childhood best friend Arthur Louis Aaron. After he returned home to Leeds, he raised his son and often told him about Aaron.

In 2022, his sons Stewart and Michael unveiled a blue plaque at Roundhay School in memory of Aaron. It is thanks to them that the memories of their father and Arthur Louis Aaron are kept alive for years to come. This card was donated to the Leeds Museum collection by Dr. Stewart Manning in memory of his father.

1960s  - 70s

1967 - 1972 - LEEDM.S.2022.0014.0165 – This postcard from the mid-20th century sends Christmas greetings from Kitson College. The Leeds college supported the engineering and transport industries, fittingly featuring the Middleton colliery railway on its Christmas postcard. The railway, which was founded in 1758, was re-opened by volunteers from the Middleton Railway Trust in 1960 and is now the world’s oldest continuously operating railway.

Kitson College is one of several names of the former Leeds College of Technology – first founded as part of the Leeds Mechanics’ Institute, it was renamed Kitson College in 1967. Given the name on the postcard and the church in the background (Hunslet Christ Church, demolished in 1972), this card likely dates between ’67 and ’72.

1980s

1988 - LEEDM.E.1989.0013.0111 – The classic Christmas television film The Snowman was first shown in December 1982 and has been a traditional viewing on Christmas seasons since. The film takes us on a magical adventure with a rural Brighton boy and a flying snowman, set to an enchanting soundtrack performed by the Sinfonia of London symphony orchestra.

The characters from Raymond Briggs’ 1978 picture book of the same name have become symbols of the British Christmas season, featured here on a Christmas card from 1988.

1990s

1991 - LEEDM.E.1992.0105.0077 – On this card sent in December 1991, Santa Claus and his reindeer are seen sleigh-riding to France through the Channel Tunnel. The card is one of Yorkshire cartoonist Rex Ripley’s greeting card designs, many featuring local references and humorous scenes. Ripley is best known for designing Yorkshire TV’s golden chevron logo.

The Tunnel was still under construction at this time, with thousand-ton machines digging underground between England and France. When it opened in 1994, it was the longest railway tunnel in Europe, and it still holds the record for longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world. It is also the only fixed link between Great Britain and the European mainland – a very useful service for those of us without magical flying reindeer.

2000s

1999 - LEEDM.E.2000.0001.0003 – Although this card was sent in 1999, it celebrates the next millennium with hope and optimism. The featured drawing of Santa Claus and two happy children was the winner of the BBC’s “Design a Christmas Card Competition” in aid of the Children’s Promise charity appeal.

Along with the cheerful drawing, the card has a merry message inside: “May the new Millenium make you feel On Top of the World!”

2010s

2017 - LEEDM.E.2018.0050.0001 – The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Jane Dowson, sent this Christmas card in 2017 during her year as the city’s mayor. The message inside from Cllr. Dowson and her consort Mr. Alan Bellhouse reads: “Sending you our warmest thoughts and best wishes for a Christmas filled with happiness. May the coming year bring you joy, love and laughter.”

The front of the card is a black-and-white depiction of Santa Claus bringing presents to an early 21st century Leeds, featuring the Victorian-era Town Hall alongside the contemporary 2010s Leeds Arena and Victoria Gate car park. It was designed by Finlay Appleyard, aged 8, of Moortown Primary School.