Friday, June 29, 2018

Colorful & Elegant Christmas card

Colorful & elegant, this Lion Coffee card is a cool reminder of a season's virtues while the back of the card presents a rare frontal view of the Woolson Spice Lion.

While most toys these days are plastic and mass-produced, the toy in this image was probably wood and hand-made.

blond girl in green hat holds wooden toy within circle surrounded by pink roses, snowy scene

stern-faced lion gazes over Lion Coffee logo and advertising copy

For additional information, the Arnold Collection recommends
  "All About Victorian Toys" by the Chertsey Museum Education Service of the Runnymede Borough Museum. This is a British PDF document with values quoted on pounds.

A Google image search reveals a number of Victorian wooden horse & cart toys similar to the one portrayed in the Lion card above:

variety of styles of Victorian wooden horse toys
 

Temptation on a hot day


It's summer! Swallows(?) congregate around a shallow water hole. Fortunately, all the Lions are on the other side. But they're watching! (scroll down)

These images are free to print & share as you please. Please credit the Arnold Collection. Thanks!

small pond surrounded by grass, rocks, flowers & trees visited by flock of swallows

And on the other side, this sneaky lion appears to be watching ... You!