INTIMATE CHRISTMAS CARD – PRINCESS ELIZABETH, THE QUEEN MOTHER – NO RESERVE (94)

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

INTIMATE CHRISTMAS CARD – PRINCESS ELIZABETH, THE QUEEN MOTHER – NO RESERVE (94):
$5.50

Offered withoutreserve and a very low starting price is a rare Christmas card fromElizabeth Bowes-Lyon, or Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; or possibly the youngPrincess Elizabeth. This dates from the mid-1930’s; and unlike formalcorrespondence, signed as “Elizabeth” or “Elizabeth R” this appears to be acard sent to a family member or close personal friend.

The front of the card has a sepia toned photograph attached,depicting the Queen Mother, together with Princess Elizabeth (later QueenElizabeth II) and Princess Margaret on her lap. Affixed to the left side of thecard is a brown silk ribbon.

Inside is a double leaf with the inscription “Kindestthoughts and wishes full of hope are sent to greet you on this Christmasmorning”. It is signed in black ink “Lily with love to all”.

I have really struggled with this one. On the one hand, Lilyis a pet name adopted by the Queen Mother. One of the Queen Mother’s favoriteflowers was the Lily (specifically, the Tiger Lily), so this was veryappropriate, in addition for it being an abbreviation of “Elizabeth”. In 1939,Cartier was commissioned to make for her a beautiful and large brooch of alily, using diamonds held at the renowned jewelers by the Royal couple. Somesimple research will show just how spectacular this piece is.

On the other hand, Lili or Lily is also short for “Lilibet”,the pet name for Queen Elizabeth II.

While the writing is uncharacteristically small from areview of letters from both in their later life, the formation of the lettersappears to be consistent with their (very similar) handwriting. The placement of themessage, however, indicates to me that someone young and not necessarily usedto sending Christmas cards wrote this. In fact, if you look closely, the writerhas gone off the leaf onto the card itself.

A conundrum that I will leave up to those more experiencedthan I to resolve. I cannot make any claims on this one, however there is a money back guarantee.

The condition is very good, with no foxing or damage. Theimage and signatures are very clear - I tried to get in as close as possible so that the signature can be viewed properly, but my photography is not great ..... Please see the detailed photos, which forma part of the description.

While original hand signed royal memorabilia, as opposed toautopen, is becoming increasingly hard to find, I cannot believe the pricessome people are asking for items like this. Consequently, and no buyit now price – it WILL sell.

Good luck if you decide to offer. I will be putting quite afew other royal items from my collection up for sale over the coming weeks.Great opportunity to buy an original piece of Royal memorabilia at a realisticprice. You might also want to follow me for a while if you are a seriouscollector.

We will ship internationally and we do accept returns if theitem is not as described; but we will not refund postage. INTERNATIONAL BUYERS, PLEASE CHECK WITH US FOR FINAL POSTAGE PRICESBEFORE CHECKING OUT. WE OFTEN FIND THAT THE SYSTEM PRICES POSTAGE TOO HIGHAND WE WILL REFUND VIA PAYPAL IF ACTUAL COSTS PROVE TO BE LESS THAN QUOTED.We will NOT give false customs declarations, so please don’t ask us to modifypricing on the customs forms.