Showcasing a lost art

CRESTVIEW — There was an elegance to the art of graphic design in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that modern designers with computer graphics programs such as PhotoShop and InDesign can only allude to. Lynn Lee’s exhibit at the Crestview Public Library of vintage greeting cards from her collection proves the point.

Cards on display date from 1835 to 1946. The delicate die-cuts and precision embossing that enhanced greeting cards in the 1800s can now be done with lasers and digitally created dies, but today’s art just doesn’t have the intricate charm inherent in that golden age of design.

Today’s graphic design emphasizes punchy graphics and terse copy to take advantage of the few seconds the piece has to capture the attention of a busy person. Indeed, much of contemporary design is viewed on a computer screen where the warm, touchy-feeliness of intricate embossing and detailed lithography is impossible.

In the late Victorian era, folks had time to relax with the morning post in comfortable parlors dripping with floral fabric, cut crystal, tassels and fringe. Feet up on the ottoman, they could lovingly withdraw an ornate greeting card from an envelope and wallow in the heartfelt sentiments of the sender.

The tactile and sentimental properties of vintage cards are what drew Lynn Lee to start her collection as a 12-year-old in Michigan. Now retired to Crestview, Lee’s card collection sat in boxes, unappreciated by anyone but herself. Fortunately, it occurred to her others might enjoy them, too.

“I usually don’t display them. Nobody enjoys them but me,” Lee said. “There is no rhyme or reason why I buy them. I just buy the ones I like.”

Lee has scoured estate sales and antique malls for most of her collection. “The ones I like are the raised ones,” she said.

As much as she admires the detailed graphic design, Lee also loves reading the cards’ inscriptions. She says they provide a little window into the lives of people from eras long past, complete with tidy penmanship and florid writing styles.

“The style of writing was a lot different then. One lady tells how she just had a baby and then she went and worked in the field,” Lee said. “My favorite card is a little card; it’s a Christmas card. It’s a postcard and a little tiny envelope. Inside is a note the lady wrote to her grandson. She said, ‘I hope you got the tie I sent to you.’”

Lynn Lee’s exhibit of pieces from her collection of vintage greeting cards will be in the lobby display cases at the Crestview Public Library through February and may be viewed during normal opening hours.