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St. Patrick's day is fast approaching so today I want to mention some of the symbols used on post cards and their background. Of course, "green" is the most obvious and is in honor of the Emerald Isle. Many of the symbols come from stories and legends of St. Patrick such as pigs, Paddy Pig, horseshoes, green top hats, dancing an Irish jig, the shamrock, the Irish flag, pots of gold, leprechauns, clay pipes, the harp, Irish countryside, shillelagh, castles and young colleens. The shamrock was probably the most popular and it was said St. Patrick used the leaf to illustrate the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost although the good luck four leaf clover is also prominent. The harp came from the Irish flag, the pigs from stories of St. Patrick tending pigs as a boy and the farming scenes to remind all of the homeland. Slogans such as "Erin go braugh" (Ireland Forever) and "Beannacht De leat" (God Bless You) are also frequently used.
The first postcard is a circa 1908 version with the Irish flag with the harp on it and a young Irish colleen holding shamrocks.
The second post card is also a circa 1908 by Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis and shows an Irish man in a green coat with a white clay pipe looking at a typical Irish country house surrounded by three and four leaf shamrocks. Be sure to see more postcards in my St. Patrick's Day listings on my website at Moody's Vintage Postcards.
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