Vintage New Year Mushroom Cards

I went through a phase a few years ago of being completely obsessed with the Amanita muscaria mushroom. I drew them, read books about them, and collected anything featuring images of them. Among those things I collected were scans of vintage greeting cards, mostly from Germany and mostly wishing people a happy new year.

I'm not entirely sure why these beautiful red mushrooms feature so commonly in these paintings, alongside four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, pigs, gnomes and chimney sweeps, aside from having read that they are considered good luck symbols - but I am always deeply fascinated by these recurring themes that decorate the cultural artefacts of times gone by.

The first day of 2023 seems a fitting time to share some of these pictures I've collected, that I hope you find as charming as I do. Happy New Year everyone.