Greeting Card 1866

This is a greeting card by Charles Henry Bennett, part of a tradition that gained popularity in the mid-19th century alongside advancements in printing and postal services. The imagery on the card shows the weight of social expectations. The card depicts a cartoonish man bearing an enormous festive greeting upon his back. In the 19th century, the emerging middle class adopted Christmas and New Year's celebrations as a way to express their social status and values. The man's exaggerated features might reflect the anxieties of the time. The jolly character is burdened, his body distorted by the load. Does he represent the working class, upon whose shoulders rested the obligations of celebration? In this context, the card becomes a poignant commentary on the social dynamics embedded within holiday rituals, subtly questioning who bears the true weight of these joyous occasions.