Next Christmas season, send the finest

Learn more about our letterpress Christmas Cards in gold on cream Crane Lettra fine paper

About the design

This unique image of the Virgin Mary embracing the Infant Jesus is adapted from an illustration from John's latest children's book, A Child's Christmas ABC Book, written by Paul Thigpen and available now from TAN Books. Paul's beautiful verse includes lines to the effect that Mary holds her child while Nightingales sing a chord (the letters 'M' and 'N' in the alphabet). To illustrate this image, John pictured Mary gazing with maternal warmth at her little one; viewers looking closely will notice the sweet birds singing their praise to the newborn King. For the style, John drew heavily upon the influence of Alphonse Mucha, the master of the Arts & Crafts movement of the early 20th century (you'll notice this influence most of all in the Art Deco-style embellishment of the halos and the intricate border, as well as the distinctive swirl of Mary's hair). 

To adapt the original painting for a Christmas card, John reduced the image to its original line work (the illustration in the book is full-color) and re-set its focal point in a new border arrangement. He then rendered it in Photoshop to be particularly suited for letterpress processing. For the color, he chose a festive and regal gold on soft cream paper. The final product is the result of careful meetings with a letterpress expert, discussing, feeling paper quality and weight, and choosing ink color for best effect. 

The inside of the card is left blank for your custom greeting. The back subtly includes information on the book, publisher, and John's website. 

John has put forth his best effort to produce what we hope you will find are truly exceptional Christmas cards. We anticipate that, once your friends receive one, they will be tempted to hang it directly on the tree or frame it for their mantlepiece! 

What is Letterpress?

Letterpress is a time-honored technique of printing in which paper is actually pressed with a rigid plate to produce a beautiful, "debossed" finish. These Christmas cards were individually printed at Directangle Press in NH, where the actual clamshell printing press machine dates back 114 years! 
John was pleased to have this project be a local collaboration between artist and artisan. 

"Not surprising, but the quality on these cars is really beautiful and extraordinary. I have them sitting on my desk, and I wish it was mid December so I could start writing and filling them out. The paper is very fine and a joy to touch and feel. The printing is excellent quality, clear and crisp. And the envelopes are lovely to match. So often with letterpress cards the envelopes are an afterthought, but they clearly weren’t for you guys.

They’re beautiful and I’m really thrilled with them and I’m so glad John took the leap to produce them."

- Maggie P. 

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"I love the ones I preordered! They are beautiful and the quality of paper is excellent! Excited to send them out!"

- Katie D. 

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"Received ours last week. They are gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. Thank you John and Deirdre!"

- Monica N. 

"I received the cards yesterday, and they are just beautiful.  I might not be able to wait until Christmas to send them out.  Thank you!"

- Phyllis J. 

We're sorry; orders have closed for this Christmas season. 
Please sign up for my private email list so you can be the first to know about next year's unique design! 

Card prices:
Envelopes included

25 cards - $50
50 cards - $100
75 cards - $150
100 cards - $175
150 cards - $262
175 cards - $306
200 cards - $350

Flat rate shipping in contiguous US: $12 

Bulk discounts available 
Payment options include check, PayPal, and credit card (by special arrangement). 

*Massachusetts state residents please note there will an additional 6% sales tax. ​

"The cards came and they are very beautiful. I will frame one for me and be proud to share the rest with my family this year. Thank you!"
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- Mary H.