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“I especially love figurative patterns, like these poodles from the 1950s,”
Linda says of the paper at (d). “The most vivid
designs are found from the
1940s through the ‘70s.” She believes the
snow-covered-houses pattern, (e), is
from the
‘50s.
During the holidays, Linda likes to create displays of vintage boxes,
including the Cinderella box printed with pumpkin coaches delivering presents,
(f) (top box). The box, inspired by the beloved Walt Disney cartoon, was made
around the 1950s for the now-defunct Famous-Barr Co., a longtime St. Louis
department store.
Some of the best wrapping paper in Linda’s collection came from family members.
“My husband’s grandmother left a lot, and my mother tends to save things, too,”
she says. One of her best “scores” occurred a few years ago at her
mother-in-law’s house. “She’d wrapped all the Christmas gifts in this great old
paper, and while she was cleaning the kitchen, I ran around collecting all the
scraps.” When her mother-in-law realized what Linda was doing, she dug into her
stash of supplies and generously shared them with her daughter-in-law.
Other
pieces take Linda back to her childhood, like the boxes from a now boarded-up
downtown department store where families once made pilgrimages to visit Santa
and see the holiday window displays. “Though the boxes and paper aren’t worth
more than a dollar or two in the collectibles market, you really can’t put a
price on memories and inspiration,” she says.
All The Trimmings
Some of artist Linda’s favorite paper was acquired close to home—from her
relatives’ piles of wrapping supplies. “If you ask around,” she says, “you might
find that your family has stashes of vintage paper.”
“I still find boxes and
paper at estate sales and flea markets,” she says, adding that you might have to
buy a whole box of Christmas decorations to get to the prized paper. She finds
the best shopping in older neighborhoods or subdivisions built during the
mid-20th century. A standard-sized sheet (enough to wrap a shirt box) in good
condition generally costs around $5.
You can learn more about gift wrap and
its history by visiting the Hallmark site.
retro wrap page
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