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【簡譯】維多利亞時代的圣誕賀卡

2022-12-09 13:59 作者:神尾智代 0人讀過 | 我要投稿

Printed Christmas cards became popular in the Victorian period (1837-1901) thanks to a combination of cheaper printing techniques and even cheaper post, with the arrival of the Penny Black postage stamp. Coming in all shapes, sizes, and materials, Christmas cards were sent in their millions to all corners of the British Empire. Victorian illustrators created an entire mythology of exactly what we imagine a European Christmas should look like with their now-classic scenes of present-covered Christmas trees, holly, robins, sleighs, and snow-covered country lanes. When we dream of a white Christmas, it is the festive cards of the 19th century which are largely responsible for that evergreen imagery.

? ? ? ? ? 印刷圣誕賀卡在維多利亞時期（1837-1901年）開始流行，這要?dú)w功于低成本的印刷技術(shù)，以及由于黑便士郵票的出現(xiàn)而更便宜的郵政系統(tǒng)。以各種形狀、尺寸和材料印刷的圣誕賀卡被數(shù)以百萬計(jì)地送往大英帝國的各個角落。維多利亞時代的插圖畫家圍繞著我們應(yīng)該如何看待歐洲圣誕節(jié)創(chuàng)造了一個名副其實(shí)的神話，其現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)典場景是掛滿禮物的圣誕樹、冬青、知更鳥和白雪覆蓋的鄉(xiāng)間小道。當(dāng)我們幻想一個白色圣誕節(jié)時，19世紀(jì)的節(jié)日賀卡在很大程度上對這種經(jīng)典意象產(chǎn)生了巨大影響。

一張可追溯到約1887年的圣誕卡，顯示了一名士兵。由哈里-佩恩繪制，軍事主題受到那些向大英帝國各地武裝部門的家庭成員寄送卡片的人的歡迎。(維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，倫敦)

起? ? ?源

Adults have, of course, been writing letters to each other for centuries. Even before there was an official public post system, letters were delivered in person, by servants, and via transport coaches. There had also been prints made from the 15th century, using woodcuts or copperplate printing techniques, especially for calendars. It was, though, in the Victorian period that several factors conspired to make printed Christmas cards the hugely popular phenomenon they became.

? ? ? ? ? 的確，幾個世紀(jì)以來，成年人之間一直在互相寫信。即使在公共郵政系統(tǒng)正式存在之前，信件都是由仆人或運(yùn)輸車輛親自寄送的。自 15 世紀(jì)以來，人們就已經(jīng)使用木版畫或銅版制作印記，尤其是日歷。然而，在維多利亞時期，多種因素匯聚在一起，使圣誕賀卡成為一種非常流行的時尚。

The historians Antony and Peter Miall suggest in The Victorian Christmas Book that the origins of cards for the festive season lie in the classroom. From the 18th century, schoolmasters had their pupils work on a 'Christmas Piece' in the month of December. This work involved pupils selecting a sheet of fine paper and producing a sample of their writing, principally to show off to their parents evidence of their academic progress that year. The paper often came with a decorated engraved border, and by the 19th century, it was popular for the pupils to draw their own decorative borders using coloured ink. "These offerings were the forerunners of the great Victorian Christmas Card" (Miall, 37).

? ? ? ? ? 歷史學(xué)家安東尼和彼得·米亞爾在《維多利亞時代的圣誕書》中提出，節(jié)日賀卡的起源于教室。自18世紀(jì)以來，教師讓學(xué)生在12月完成“圣誕作業(yè)”。這項(xiàng)作業(yè)涉及學(xué)生選擇一張精美的紙張，并制作他們的寫作樣本，主要是為了向他們的父母展示他們那一年的學(xué)業(yè)進(jìn)步證據(jù)。紙張上通常有一個裝飾性的雕刻邊框，到了19世紀(jì)，學(xué)生們用彩色墨水繪制自己的裝飾邊框，這很受歡迎?！斑@些禮物是偉大的維多利亞時代圣誕賀卡的先驅(qū)”（Miall，37）。

Other sources of inspiration for the decorative Christmas card may have been printed music sheets with decorative borders and covers, engravings commissioned to mark important anniversaries, school reward cards for hard-working pupils, fine illustrated notepaper, and the more ornate varieties of visiting cards which were left when one called upon someone and they were not at home.

? ? ? ? ? 裝飾性圣誕賀卡的其他靈感來源可能是帶有裝飾性邊框和封面的印刷樂譜、為紀(jì)念重要紀(jì)念日而委托制作的版畫、學(xué)校對勤奮學(xué)習(xí)的學(xué)生的獎勵賀卡、精美的插圖信紙，以及當(dāng)人們拜訪某人而對方不在家時留下的華麗的各種拜訪卡。

一張 1848 年的圣誕賀卡，由 William Maw Edgley（1826-19116 年）印刷，展示了普遍歡樂的場景，并且首次在此類賀卡上印有冬青。寄件人在卡片最上面寫下收件人的名字，并在卡片底部簽上他們的名字。

第一張圣誕賀卡

Sir Henry Cole (1808-1882) was a civil servant who had, in 1840, reformed the British postal system by helping to create the Universal Penny Post where senders used the now-famous Penny Black postage stamps. Cole would later become the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 1843, Cole had a brilliant idea. Not only could he save himself writing different individualised letters to his friends and family at Christmas but he could also brighten the season with a colourful card printed for the express purpose of sending his compliments of the season. Accordingly, Cole commissioned John Callcott Horsley (1817-1903), an artist and illustrator who was a member of the Royal Academy, to produce the first printed Christmas card.

? ? ? ? ? 亨利·科爾爵士（1808-1882）是一名國家公務(wù)員，他在1840年幫助國家創(chuàng)建了環(huán)球便士郵政，寄件人使用著名的黑便士郵票進(jìn)行郵寄，改革了英國的郵政系統(tǒng)。科爾后來成為倫敦維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館的第一任館長。1843年，科爾有了一個絕妙的想法，他不僅可以省去在圣誕節(jié)給朋友和家人單獨(dú)寫個性化信件的麻煩，而且還可以用印有彩色卡片的方式來為假期增添節(jié)日氛圍。因此，科爾委托曾是皇家學(xué)院成員的藝術(shù)家和插圖畫家約翰·卡爾科特·霍斯利（1817-1903）制作了第一張印刷圣誕賀卡。

Horsley's design for the card, which was about the size of an ordinary visiting card (2 x 3 inches or 5 x 7.5 cm), showed different generations of the Horsley family raising a toast – presumably to the absent friend who is the recipient of the card – while flanked with scenes showing acts of charity, then, as now, an important element of the Christmas season. On the left are people giving food to the needy, and on the right, they give clothing. There was a border of a wood frame intertwined with ivy, and below the main image a greeting of "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You". There was a space along the very top and bottom of the card left blank to write a short handwritten and personalised message to the receiver. One thousand such cards were printed and then hand-coloured. The cards went on sale to the public at the rather high price of one shilling per card. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a new and relatively expensive idea, there were few buyers.

? ? ? ? ? 霍斯利為卡片設(shè)計(jì)的尺寸與普通訪問卡差不多（2 x 3英寸或5 x 7.5厘米），上面顯示了霍斯利家族不同世代的人在舉杯慶祝，估計(jì)是向不在的朋友敬酒，他是卡片的收件人；而兩邊是顯示慈善行為的場景，就像現(xiàn)在一樣，這成為圣誕節(jié)一個重要的組成部分。左邊是人們向有需要的人提供食物，右邊是給他們衣服。畫面的邊框是由常春藤交織而成的木框，主畫面下面是“祝你圣誕快樂，新年吉祥”的問候語。卡片的頂部和底部留有空白，可以給收件人寫上簡短的手寫和個性化的信息。印刷了一千張這樣的卡片，然后進(jìn)行手工上色。這些卡片以每張一先令的高價向公眾出售。對于一個新且相對昂貴的想法，購買者寥寥無幾，這也許并不令人驚訝。

一張 19 世紀(jì)晚期的圣誕賀卡，展示了知更鳥和雪景。邊界是穿孔的，類似于蕾絲。（維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，倫敦）

理念的普及

Fortunately for the future of Christmas cards, the royal family was enthusiastic for all things Christmassy. In particular, Prince Albert (1819-1861) brought German Christmas traditions to England such as the Christmas tree. It was, though, the younger members of the royal family who adopted the idea of sending each other handmade greeting cards both at Christmas and New Year. Queen Victoria must have approved since she later started the trend of public figures sending 'official' Christmas cards showing more often than not themselves and their family in a festive setting.

? ? ? ? ? 幸運(yùn)的是，對于圣誕賀卡的未來，王室熱衷于圣誕節(jié)的所有事物。特別是阿爾伯特親王（1819-1861），他將德國的圣誕傳統(tǒng)帶到了英國，如圣誕樹。不過，正是王室的年輕成員接受了在圣誕節(jié)和新年互相發(fā)送手工賀卡的想法，維多利亞女王一定很贊同，因?yàn)楹髞砉娙宋锛某觥肮俜健笔フQ賀卡成為一種時尚，最常見的是在節(jié)日環(huán)境中展示他們自己和他們的家人。

Then in 1844, there was another attempt at the commercial Christmas card, and this was much more successful. Mr W. C. T. Dobson sold a printed card which carried an illustration of the "Spirit of Christmas". In 1848, a card printed by William Maw Edgley (1826-1916) repeated the theme of Cole's card but added scenes of general merriment and holly to the imagery. Printers now knew they were onto a good thing, and they became more and more ambitious with the designs of their cards which were available to buy in stationers and bookshops. From 1879, rather than pricey single cards, people could buy cheap packs of cards from tobacconists and toy shops, often imported from Germany. This development went hand-in-hand with the new half-penny post for postcards, and so now people of all classes could send Christmas cards to their loved ones.

? ? ? ? ? 1844年，在商業(yè)圣誕賀卡上又有了新的嘗試，而且這次更加成功。威廉·查爾斯·托馬斯·道布森先生出售了一張印有“圣誕精魂”插圖的卡片。1848年，威廉·莫·埃格利（William Maw Edgley，1826-1916）印制的卡片重復(fù)了科爾卡片的主題，但在圖像中加入了冬青樹和一些歡樂場景。印刷商們現(xiàn)在知道他們是在做一件劃算的事，他們在卡片的設(shè)計(jì)上變得越來越有野心，人們可以在文具店和書店都可以買到圣誕賀卡。從1879年起，人們可以從煙草店和玩具店購買廉價的卡片包，而不是價格昂貴的單張卡片，這些卡片通常是從德國進(jìn)口的。這一發(fā)展與新的半便士明信片的發(fā)行相輔相成，因此現(xiàn)在各個階層的人都可以向他們所愛的人寄送圣誕賀卡。

維多利亞時代的圣誕賀卡設(shè)計(jì)

The first cards were printed on small single sheets of card, but they soon progressed to come in all shapes and sizes. Victorian Christmas cards were typically lithographed and hand-coloured before colour-printing took over. Many used embossed paper, sometimes with cut-out parts to resemble lace, particularly for borders. There were even cards decorated with ribbons, tassels, real lace, tinsel, and coloured glass. Satin, silk, and brocade were also popular materials to enhance the feel of the card. The most exotic of cards were scented, had padded additions, and incorporated pressed flowers. One card for sale boasted it was made of no fewer than 750 separate pieces. If one creation reflected the Victorian love of accumulating individual beautiful materials to create an even more beautiful finished article, it was the Christmas card. With so many possible materials being used in a single card, it is no wonder that draper's shops included them in their Christmas stock.

? ? ? ? ? 第一批卡片是印在小的單張卡片上的，但它們很快就發(fā)展成各種形狀和尺寸。維多利亞時代的圣誕賀卡通常是平版印刷和手工上色的，后來才出現(xiàn)彩色印刷。許多賀卡是使用壓花紙制成的，有時還剪出一些類似花邊的部分，特別是在邊框上。甚至還有用絲帶、流蘇、皇家花邊、金屬絲和彩色玻璃裝飾的卡片。緞子、絲綢和錦緞也是增強(qiáng)卡片質(zhì)感的流行材料。最具異國情調(diào)的卡片帶有香味，有填充物，還有壓制的花朵。有一張出售的卡片吹噓它是由不少于750個獨(dú)立的部件組成的。如果說有一種創(chuàng)作反映了維多利亞時代對積累個別美麗材料以創(chuàng)造出更美麗的成品的熱愛，那就是圣誕賀卡。由于一張卡片可以使用如此多的材料，難怪裁縫店會把它們列入圣誕物品中。

There was a great variety in the shape of cards, too, with the most popular ranging from the classic rectangular form to oval, circular, diamond, crescent, and bell-shaped cards. Some cards were folded, others made into fan shapes, or they reflected the object they illustrated such as a post box or purse. Cards might include moving parts or flaps that could be opened to reveal an additional scene or message. Some had tabs that, when pulled, moved the legs and arms of a character on the front of the card or they had a disk that could be turned to show different scenes in a central window.

? ? ? ? ? 賀卡的形狀也有很大的變化，最受歡迎的是經(jīng)典的長方形，還有橢圓形、圓形、菱形、新月形和鐘形卡片。有些賀卡是折疊的，有些做成扇形，或者反映出它們所說明的對象，如郵筒或錢包。賀卡可能還有活動部分或可打開的部件，以顯示其他場景或信息。有些卡片上有標(biāo)簽，拉開后可以移動卡片正面人物的腿和胳膊，或者有一個可以轉(zhuǎn)動的圓盤，在中央窗口顯示不同的場景。

There were all kinds of subjects depicted on cards, many of which included humorous cartoons and everyday life, sometimes not at all related to Christmas. Religious themes remained popular such as angels and scenes from the Nativity, but there was a definite shift away from these to more secular subjects as the Victorian era progressed. Victorian illustrators were not without humour or fear of the risqué, nor did they miss the opportunity to trick the viewer with many cards showing two scenes depending on which direction the card was held.

? ? ? ? ? 賀卡上有各種各樣的主題，其中許多包括幽默的漫畫和日常生活，有時與圣誕節(jié)完全沒有關(guān)系。宗教主題仍然很受歡迎，如天使和耶穌誕生的場景，但隨著維多利亞時代的發(fā)展，這些主題肯定會轉(zhuǎn)向更多的世俗主題。維多利亞時代的插畫師并不是沒有幽默感，也不是不害怕冒失，他們也沒有錯過欺騙觀眾的機(jī)會，這些卡片會根據(jù)卡片所持的方向顯示兩種不同的場景。

Victorian illustrators were largely responsible for what we today imagine as a classic 'Christmas scene': old churches and country lanes in the snow, sleigh rides, plump robins, glistening holly and mistletoe, and presents on or under the Christmas tree. The popular snow scenes on Victorian Christmas cards reflected the string of harsh winters in England through the 1830s and 1840s. White Christmases became much rarer thereafter, but the scene in people's imaginations was by then set. In the same way, the Christmas food we imagine being eaten by Dickensian characters in the 19th century is, like in the cards, always golden roast turkeys and great steaming Christmas puddings the size of cannon balls.

? ? ? ? ? 維多利亞時代的插畫師對我們今天所想象的經(jīng)典“圣誕場景”負(fù)有很大責(zé)任：雪中的古老教堂和鄉(xiāng)間小路、雪橇、豐滿的知更鳥、閃閃發(fā)光的冬青樹和槲寄生裝飾品，以及圣誕樹上或樹下的禮物。維多利亞時代圣誕卡上流行的雪景反映了19世紀(jì)30年代和40年代英國一系列的嚴(yán)冬。此后，白色的圣誕節(jié)變得更加稀少，但人們印象中的場景已經(jīng)確定。同樣，我們印象中狄更斯筆下的人物在19世紀(jì)所吃的圣誕食物，就像賀卡上的一樣，總是金色的烤火雞和像炮彈一樣大的熱騰騰的圣誕布丁。

Father Christmas was a popular figure on cards, but he evolved over the decades, his appearance morphing from a Falstaffian character to a jolly old man with blue trousers and a crown of holly, and finally on to his definitive red suit with white fur trim. Father Christmas' mode of transport also evolved to keep up with the times, The Victorian Father Christmas used any means he could to reach people's chimneys such as the popular bicycle of the 1880s, the new motor car of the 1890s, the ever-growing modern railway network, or even a hot air balloon.

? ? ? ? ? 圣誕老人是卡片上的一個受歡迎的人物，但他在幾十年間不斷演變，他的外表從一個福斯塔夫式的外表變成了一個穿著藍(lán)色長褲、戴著冬青冠的快樂老人，最后變成了他那件帶有白色毛邊的鮮明紅色套裝。圣誕老人的交通方式也隨著時代的發(fā)展而變化，維多利亞時代的圣誕老人使用任何可以到達(dá)人們煙囪的方式，如19世紀(jì)80年代流行的自行車，19世紀(jì)90年代的新汽車，不斷擴(kuò)大的現(xiàn)代鐵路網(wǎng)絡(luò)，甚至是熱氣球。

Christmas cards had become such a staple part of the season that they now attracted the top artists to illustrate them, names like Linnie Watts, who produced a series of cards showing children, and Harry Payne, who drew soldiers, a poignant theme for those with loved ones serving far from home in the armed forces of the British Empire.

? ? ? ? ? 圣誕賀卡已經(jīng)成為這個季節(jié)的主要組成部分，以至于它們現(xiàn)在吸引了頂級藝術(shù)家為其繪制插圖，如琳妮·瓦特，他制作了一系列展示兒童的賀卡；還有哈里·佩恩，他畫的是士兵，對于那些有親人在大英帝國的武裝部隊(duì)中遠(yuǎn)離家鄉(xiāng)服役的人來說，這是一個凄涼的主題。

Cards changed over time as tastes changed. For example, black backgrounds to make the main picture more striking were popular in the 1870s. Cards reflected modern trends in art, too. By the end of the century, art nouveau designs were appearing, with highly decorative designs and subjects inspired by the works of such fashionable artists as Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939). With cards being sent around the world, the tradition quickly took root in other countries, notably in the United States from 1874, with the cards printed by Louis Prang (1824-1909), popularly known as "the father of American Christmas cards".

? ? ? ? ? 隨著時間的推移，人們的口味不斷變化。例如，在19世紀(jì)70年代，為了使主要圖片更加醒目，黑色背景的賀卡很流行。賀卡也反映了現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)的趨勢。到本世紀(jì)末，新藝術(shù)設(shè)計(jì)開始出現(xiàn)，其高度裝飾性的設(shè)計(jì)和主題受到阿爾豐斯·慕夏（1860-1939）等時尚藝術(shù)家作品的啟發(fā)。隨著賀卡被送往世界各地，這一傳統(tǒng)很快在其他國家扎根，特別是自1874年起在美國，由路易斯·普朗（1824-1909）印制的賀卡，被人們稱為“美國圣誕賀卡之父”。

第一張印刷的圣誕賀卡，由亨利·科爾爵士（1808-82 年）委托，約翰·卡爾科特·霍斯利（1817-1903 年）于 1843 年繪制。該賀卡印了 1000 份。（維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，倫敦）

圣誕賀卡文本

On the front, inside or on the reverse of the card, the printed text also became more varied through the years, and below are some 19th-century examples:

? ? ? ? ? 在卡片的正面、內(nèi)部或背面，印刷的文字也隨著時間的推移變得更加多樣，下面是一些19世紀(jì)的例子：

Love and Peace with thee abide

Through the holy Christmastide!

愛與和平，與你同在

貫穿整個神圣的圣誕節(jié)!

Very happy may it be

Christmas time to thine and thee.

祝你快樂

祝福你和你的圣誕時光

We live in deeds

in thoughts not breaths

not years

in feelings not in figures

on a dial.

我們生活在行動中，而不是歲月；在思想中，而不是在呼吸中；在感覺中，而不是在表盤上的數(shù)字中。（菲利普·詹姆斯·貝利 (PHILIP JAMES BAILEY) 的《我們生活在行動中，而不是歲月》）

May Christmas bring thee peace and plenty,

Barns and cellars never empty.

A horn of honest wholesome beer,

Will warm the heart, the spirits cheer.

愿圣誕給你帶來平安和富足。

谷倉和地窖永不空。

健康純正的啤酒號角

將溫暖人心，振奮精神。

May your Christmas happy be,

Fraught with every joy for thee;

And throughout each year in store,

Peace be with thee evermore.

愿你的圣誕快樂。

充滿喜悅。

貫穿每一年。

愿平安永遠(yuǎn)與你同在。

Cards often came with longer printed texts such as poems or several verses of popular carols. An example of a typical verse within a Victorian Christmas card is:

? ? ? ? ? 卡片上常常印有較長的文字，如詩歌或流行頌歌的幾節(jié)。維多利亞時代的圣誕卡中的典型詩句的例子是：

Oh, Life is but a river;

And in our childhood, we

But a fair running streamlet

Adorn'd with flowers see.

哦，生命不過是一條河流。

而在我們的童年，

只是一條美麗的小溪

飾以鮮花。

But as we grow more earnest,

The river grows more deep;

And where we laugh'd in childhood,

We, older, pause to weep.

但隨著我們越來越成熟

河水越來越深。

在我們童年時歡笑的地方。

我們老了，就會停下來哭泣。

Each Christmas as it passes,

Some change to us doth bring;

Yet to our friends the closer,

As Time creeps on, we cling.

(Miall, 43)

每一個圣誕節(jié)都會過去。

都會給我們帶來一些變化。

但對我們的朋友來說，卻更加親近。

隨著時間的推移，我們依依不舍。

(Miall, 43)

收集圣誕賀卡

Beautifully made and capturing memories of the season, the Victorian middle classes became avid collectors of Christmas cards, which explains why it became common to have the year printed somewhere on the card. Perhaps the most famous card collector was George Buday – he even wrote a celebrated book on the history of Christmas cards, his The Story of the Christmas Card – and he donated his collection of over 3,000 cards to the Victoria and Albert Museum. This museum today has over 15,000 Christmas cards in its archives and each Christmas it reprints old Victorian designs so that they can, once more, just as in days of yore, carry people's Christmas wishes far and wide.

? ? ? ? ? 由于賀卡的制作精美，且包含了季節(jié)的記憶，維多利亞時代的中產(chǎn)階級成為圣誕賀卡的狂熱收藏者，這也解釋了為什么在卡片上印有年份的做法變得很普遍。也許最著名的卡片收藏家是喬治·布迪，他甚至寫了一本關(guān)于圣誕賀卡歷史的著名書籍《圣誕賀卡的故事》，他將自己收藏的3000多張卡片捐贈給維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館。今天，該博物館的檔案中有超過15,000張圣誕賀卡，并且每年圣誕節(jié)都會重印維多利亞時代的老設(shè)計(jì)，以便它們能夠像昔日一樣承載世界各地人們的圣誕祝福。