Correspondence was a high priority and a major undertaking for both Percy and Ella---keeping in touch with their family and friends and updating colleagues and business contacts. But the December holiday mailings must have been in a category by itself. They received hundreds of cards and notes as evidenced by the many saved bundles of cards, tied with twine or ribbon and organized by year. An entire wicker hamper was stuffed with some of these bundles dating from the 1940s and early 1950s.

The cards shown here date to 1959. A checkmark on the envelope or card confirmed that a reply was sent. Two checkmarks or a written note on the envelope indicated including an announcement of the new Grainger recording:  Country Gardens and Other Favorites conducted by Frederick Fennell with the Eastman-Rochester “Pops” Orchestra.

Often striking and always engaging, the Christmas cards provide another window into the Grainger’s lives. Exemplifying imagery and graphic styles from an earlier time, they link us not only to the Grainger’s circle of friends and colleagues but also evoke a sense of that time period and help connect us to that era.