Senior Music Specialist Loras Schissel contributes this guest blog post to share some of the holiday greetings found in the Music Division’s collections.
We present some interesting and unusual holiday and greeting cards in celebration of the season. In some instances, the sender has created the cover art or composed a special musical greeting for the recipient. Click on images to enlarge them or use the links to explore the collections in which they are found.
Hilde Foss, the mother of composer/conductor Lucas Foss (1922-2009), drew this musical/biographical Christmas card for conductor Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951). The card depicts works that were closely associated with Koussevitzky.
Actor Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) sent this personalized Christmas card to lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896-1983).
Composer and former Music Division Chief Carl Engel (1883-1941) penned a short (and gloomy) Christmas tune for chamber music patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1864-1953). Engel’s dread noted here had more to do with his dread of the damp and cold Washington, D.C., winters. It is also a wonderful example of the playful nature of their relationship. The name “Mike” is a play on Engel’s (i.e., Angel) name, as in Michael the Archangel.
This Happy New Year 1949 card is from cowboy/conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) to his “old charmer,” Aaron Copland (1900-1990).
Composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) was also a noted pen-and-ink artist. For Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge’s 80th birthday, he penned this short birthday canon and decorated the boarder with musical calligraphy.
Here is a whimsical holiday card from Ira and Lee Gershwin.
We hope these fanciful cards bring joy to your holiday season, and we offer enthusiastic wishes for a happy, healthy, and musical 2026.