Eight years ago, in November 2012, a selection of nine Christmas cards sent by Prince Charles and Diana, the Princess of Wales, were due to be auctioned. The intense interest surrounded the images on the cards which were of Charles and Diana with the Princes, William and Harry. The poses were natural, touching family photos and act as something of a timeline of the growing princes. The cards are also signed by the royal couple.
In May 2019, two more Christmas cards bearing the signatures of the Prince and Princess of Wales sold for £1,500 auctioned by Hansons Auctioneers and well exceeding their guide price of £300. These cards were sent to Harold Wilson, the former Prime Minister and his wife, Mary. These royal cards are still around and you don’t have to have been either famous or rich to have received one.
Hansons also discovered some royal Christmas cards buried in a box of stamps. The cards had been sent between 1985 and 1999 and all posted to the late George and Muriel Constable. The cards feature the usual happy childhood pictures that many families send during the festive season. The cards are signed by Charles and Diana but from 1997, Diana’s name is not on the last few because of her untimely death in a car accident aged 36. Her early demise makes Diana’s signature much rarer than that of Prince Charles. The cards had passed to the then vendor after the death of Muriel Constable in 1993 and lain untouched for nearly a quarter of a century. Muriel and her husband ran the Post Office in Newton Saint Loe near Bath in Somerset, a village which forms part of the Duchy of Cornwall hence the monarchical connection. Muriel was a stamp and card collector which is why the cards were found in a box of stamps.
The people placing the cards up for auction had not realised they existed. They came across one of Muriel’s boxes and decided to ask Hansons, the auctioneer, to take a look at the stamps to identify and value them. The cards were discovered hidden in the box and were indeed highly collectable. The earliest card dates to 1985 when the Princes were aged around one and three. The latest card was sent in 1999 when the boys were teenagers but Diana’s signature has disappeared by then. The cards are an incredibly poignant record of Diana’s tragic and early death in a car crash in Paris. The scarcity of Diana’s signature is what puts the premium price on the cards So, are old Christmas cards, royal or not, worth anything?
Clearly, royal cards will have a value even if they are not very old. A simple signature will have an attributable price but a personal message or connection could increase this many times. But standard old cards from people who neither rich nor famous could still fetch a bob or two based purely on their age.
Victorian era cards so pre 1900s are collectable, particularly those which feature hand-painted illustrations of birds and flowers – remember, early Christmas cards were not particularly festive. Snowy scenes and images of Father Christmas came much later on. So, is there anything you should look out for in particular if you want to start collecting or you come across a box of old Christmas cards in granny’s attic and wonder if they are worth anything?
- Some card designers are very collectable. Look for cards by the English companies Raphael Tuck & Sons, De la Rue and Marcus Ward & Co. They can make five figures if they are in good condition
- Character cards can be valuable so early Disney examples featuring Mickey Mouse or Snoopy for instance
- Celebrity signatures can make a dull and average card very attractive in the eyes of a collector – this is more about the autograph market than strictly Christmas cards. Make sure it is actually a personal signature as many of these cards were produced in bulk and just overprinted which can look like the real deal but isn’t
- Novelty or folding cards or ones with moving parts can be valuable if they have survived intact
- Cards which allude to a particular event like the Great War are also valuable
Where is the best place to find a hidden gem?
Assuming you don’t inherit any interesting boxes of books and cards then you should content yourself with trawling around car boot sales, junk shops, estate sales and flea markets. Dig deep into those boxes. Often the contents are mixed – books, postcards and prints – and the cards can be hidden under something else as was the case with the Constable’s royal cards.
Most cards are of high value because of their age. A card may not have a date printed on it but often the illustration will give the best clue as to the card’s age. However, very small print runs of newer cards or cards created by significant people, often artists can also prove valuable. In the 20th century, top names like Salvador Dali and Norman Rockwell were commissioned to produce designs for Christmas cards although Dali’s rather Avante Garde images even in 1960 were just too much for Hallmark to stomach. The company had begun reproducing contemporary artists’ images on their cards around 1940 but Dali was wide of their particular mark. His images were described as unsettling and surreal but Hallmark gave him no direction on what they wanted him to produce. Eventually of ten images, Hallmark chose two of the most tame and even those were not well received.
A quick trip around auction sites like eBay will show you what’s hot and what’s not in the Christmas card collecting world. Condition is really important. It doesn’t matter how old or rare the card, if it is in poor condition, faded or even torn, then the value will take a real hit. Collectors are really looking at cards which are in mint or near perfect condition so if it has sat for years in a box then that can be ideal. Take professional advice on how to store or display a valuable card if you have one.
