Archive for December, 2016
“A Very Merrie Christmas and a Happy New Year” 1912
Posted by: | Comments 
So Says the Greeting on this 104 year-old Christmas Card from the Hermon MacNeil Studio on College Point, Queens, New York.
A photo of the MacNeil Studio on College Point, holly sprigs and a Doll-faced Christmas bell, these things grace the face of this holiday greeting card.
The back shows an addressee and a College Point postmark for Dec 24, 1912 with a cancellation on a 1 cent George Washington postage stamp. Perhaps these cards were available to MacNeil’s students at the Pratt Institute as Seasons greetings.
A publishers mark, “F. Hettling, Pub.” is listed on the bottom front in very small print.
The addressee (Miss Jule Cox, 285 Carlton Ave, Brooklyn, New York) brings up a residence about 12 blocks from the Pratt Institute where MacNeil was an instructor for many years. (Thus our ‘student theory’ on this Christmas note. The signature is not readily decipherable (from The Deachins?). All is written in black ink with a fountain pen. — All in all, its a curious relic from a century ago.
The photo of the studio was used in other Christmas cards and newspaper articles about the MacNeil sculptors. 
Hermon MacNeil built his Studio building out of stones. These he gathered from the shoreline and bottom on the East River sound behind the studio. Being the son and grandson of builders, he was familiar with hand labor, construction and masonry.
The studio was bathed in natural light through skylights and featuresd a section where Carol Brooks MacNeil (Carrie) did her sculpture work as well.
This curious Item came up as an eBay offering during 2016. SO guess who wanted it? 
