Preserving the Past: Vintage Birthday Cards

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In last month’s Fortitude post, I shared a family history tip encouraging readers to preserve the seemingly mundane items of everyday life because today’s ordinary objects often become tomorrow’s treasured family artifacts. Recently, I was reminded just how true this is.

While digging through a closet, I rediscovered my baby book—a keepsake my mother lovingly kept for me as I was growing up.

The book itself is a piece of history. It was originally copyrighted in 1928 by The Mothers’ Aid of the Chicago Lying-In Hospital—my mother purchased the revised 1956 edition. Proceeds from the sale of those baby books helped support maternity research that benefited mothers and babies around the world.

Inside were all the expected treasures: photographs, growth records, vocabulary milestones, and immunization records. But tucked away in the very back of the book, I discovered something I had completely forgotten about—a collection of my childhood birthday cards dating back to the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Birthday Cards from the Past

Those colorful, well-worn cards instantly transported me back in time. They weren’t rare antiques or historically significant documents. They were simply ordinary birthday cards that had been saved by my mother. Now, decades later, they’ve become priceless reminders of family, childhood, and the people who celebrated those early years of my life.

At first glance, preserving a childhood birthday card may not seem all that significant. But imagine holding a birthday card your great-grandfather received in 1910. That kind of connection is entirely possible, since the modern birthday card that emerged in the 19th century was made widely available through advances in printing technology and the expansion of the postal system.¹

So, in this month’s Fortitude post, I invite you to join me on a nostalgic journey back to the late 1950s and early 1960s as we take a look as some of these vintage birthday cards. If you’re from the baby boomer era, the artwork on these cards may be familiar to you! 

I’m realistic enough to know that these childhood birthday cards will be discarded someday. Paper fades, possessions are lost, and many of the seemingly ordinary items we save eventually disappear. So, I thought I’d capture a small glimpse of the past by digitally sharing some of these vintage birthday cards—another way of preserving the mundane.

It feels a bit strange to use the word vintage when referring to things from my own childhood. That thought reminds me of a question once posed to Billy Graham. A student asked him, “What is the greatest surprise of your life?” Graham replied:

“The greatest surprise in my life is the brevity of life.”

—Billy Graham (1997)²

I can certainly relate to Graham’s answer as on my next birthday, I will turn 70. Even as I type those words, they seem somewhat surreal. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was a little boy growing up in the late 1950s and early 1960s, eagerly opening these very birthday cards.

The years have passed quickly, but these cards remain as small time capsules from the past. Their whimsical illustrations of smiling animals, brightly colored balloons, birthday cakes, and cartoon children are more than simple decorations on cardstock. They perserve the artistic style of a bygone era. 

Below is a sampling of the vintage birthday cards my mother tucked away into the back of my Baby Book many decades ago. Through them, we can take a brief journey into the past and be reminded once again that the mundane things we preserve today may become cherished treasures for future family historians.

Get Well Cards

Among the keepsakes from my Baby Book were several “get well” cards from family members and preschool friends that I received after contracting the measles in 1961. In those days, before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, nearly every child in America contracted measles during childhood.⁴ You’ve got to love the toy rifle—I was probably dreaming about that Red Ryder BB gun in those days!

Thanks Moms!

As we conclude this nostalgic journey of vintage cards, I’d like to offer a heartfelt salute to all the mothers who quietly became the family historians of our lives. They were the keepers of our baby books, birthday cards, photographs, and precious memories that might otherwise have been lost to time.

So, here’s to all the moms who preserved the seemingly mundane and, in doing so, preserved our stories!

Christmas Gift Idea

Looking for a fun, meaningful way to connect kids with their family history this upcoming holiday season? Check out my Curious Cathy’s Quirky Questions children’s book and companion journal. The book inspires young readers to explore their family’s past through engaging questions and stories, while the interactive journal offers guided prompts for capturing family tales, milestones, and favorite photos together with parents or grandparents.

You can find both on Amazon [HERE].

NOTES

1. Vintage Printing. 2024. A Brief History of Birthday Cards: How They Became an Essential Celebration Tradition. Accessed from https://www.vintageprinting.co/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-birthday-cards-how-they-became-an-essential-celebration-tradition on June 19, 2026. 
2. The Billy Graham Library. 2014 Blog. In His Own Words – Billy Graham to the Graduate. Accessed from https://billygrahamlibrary.org/in-his-own-words-billy-graham-to-the-graduate/ on June 19, 2026. 
3. Featured Image. Vintage Boys Birthday Cards. Created by Google Gemini AI on June 20, 2026.
4. Journal of Heath Economics. 2023. Mass vaccination and educational attainment: Evidence from the 1967–68 Measles Eradication Campaign. Accessed from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629623001054 on June 23, 2026.