Christmas Cards
Abstract
Long-time friend and colleague, Joseph Blumenthal, in his book, Robert Frost and His Printers, writes about the beginning of the Robert Frost Christmas card tradition. He wrote, “In the autumn of 1929 when we were setting type for the forthcoming Collected Poems, with Christmas just ahead, I had found in Frost’s fine “Christmas Trees” the perfect poem for a holiday greeting card. Since I had not yet met the poet, I asked permission for its use from the publisher. The people at Holt gave it readily and were pleased at my offer to print some cards for them…” In total Joan St. C. Crane identifies thirty-five published Christmas Cards; thirteen are held in the York Collection. Frost Christmas Cards in York: 1. “Christmas Trees”, 1929 2. Robert Frost. Two Tramps in Mud-Time. NY: Spiral Press, 1934. 3. Robert Frost. Neither Out Far Nor in Deep, NY: Spiral Press, 1935. 4. “Everybody’s Sanity”, 1936 5. “To a Young Wretch”, 1937 6. “Carpe Diem”, 1938 7. Robert Frost. Triple Plate, NY: Spiral Press, 1939. 8. Robert Frost. Our Hold on the Planet, 1940. 9. “I Could Give All to Time”, 1941 10. “The Gift Outright”, 1942 11. “The Guardeen”, 1943 12. “Two Leading Lights”, 1944 13. Robert Frost. An Unstamped Letter in Our Rural Letter Box, NY: The Spiral Press, 1944. 14. Robert Frost. On Making Certain Anything Has Happened, NY: Holt, 1945. 15. “A Young Birch”, 1946 16. “One Step Backward Taken”, 1947 17. “The Falls”, 1947 18. “On the Inflation of the Currency”, 1948 19. Robert Frost. Closed for Good, NY: Spiral Press, 1948. 20. “Greece”, 1948 21. Robert Frost. On a Tree Fallen Across the Road, NY: Spiral Press, 1949. 22. Robert Frost. Doom to Bloom, NY: Spiral Press, 1950. 23. “A Cabin in the Clearing”, 1951 24. Robert Frost. Does No One But Me at All Ever Feel This Way in the Least, NY: The Spiral Press, 1952. 25. “One More Brevity”, 1953 26. “From a Milkweed Pod”, 1954 27. “Some Science Fiction”, 1955 28. “Kitty Hawk”, 1956 29. Robert Frost. My Objection to Being Stepped On, NY: The Spiral Press, 1957, Wood engravings by Leonard Baskin. 30. Robert Frost. Away, NY: The Spiral Press, 1958, Wood engravings by Stefan Martin. 31. “A-Wishing Well”, 1959 32. “Accidentally on Purpose”, 1960 33. Robert Frost. The Wood-Pile, Wood engravings by Thomas W. Nason, NY: The Spiral Press, 1961. This poem has been reprinted from Complete Poems of Robert Frost copyright 1930, 1939 by Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 34. “The Prophets Really Prophesy as Mystics, the Commentators Merely by Statistics”, 1962 35. “The Constant Symbol”, 1962
Dates
- From the Collection: Creation: Majority of material found within 1920 - 1964
- From the Collection: Creation: 1920-2004
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Registration with the collection is required. Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.
Biographical / Historical
A collection of signed prints of Robert Frost's annual Christmas cards.
From poets.org: "Each year, Frost would select a poem, often writing an original piece for the occasion, and send it to his friends and loved ones—and his publisher’s friends and loved ones. Now collectors’ items, these annual cards started out simply as a way for Frost to honor the winter season with a poem."
Extent
From the Collection: 109 Volumes
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Nicholson Library Special Collections Repository