Vintage Mum

Ooo, wait, this is the wrong kind of Mum, isn’t it? How embarrassing …Someone told me a little while back that Hallmark had invented Mother’s Day. He was not consciously being cynical or facetious, but thus challenged, I immediately turned to Wikipedia for the facts.

There I learned that the modern holiday was first celebrated in 1908 by a woman in West Virginia, USA, who held a memorial for her mother. It was she who campaigned to have it recognised as a holiday, and though she was successful in 1914, she was disappointed by its commercialisation in the 1920s. I guess that must be round about the time Hallmark took a hand.

Regardless of the day’s origins, there’s nothing wrong with honouring a beloved mother, right? Happy Mother’s Day! This one’s for you, mum.

That’s better …1920s advertisement from Melissa Brady King. Click image for a larger version to read the copy and have a giggle. Victorian diecut from The Vintage Moth.