Happy New Year 1890, from the New Years 1890 series (N227) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889 - 1890

This small chromolithograph, Happy New Year 1890, was part of a series of cards distributed by Kinney Bros. Tobacco Company. The imagery presents an allegorical depiction of the passage of time, a popular theme during the Victorian era, with its fascination for symbolism and sentimentality. On the left, a young boy representing the New Year lights a candle that illuminates the numerals ‘1890.’ Father Time, on the right, completes his ledger, marking the end of 1889 with a quill pen. Consider the implications of representing time through gendered and generational figures. Father Time is winged like an angel, but carries a scythe much like the Grim Reaper. The boy is formally dressed and lighting the way forward. This card prompts reflection on the Victorian ideals of progress, childhood innocence, and the inevitable march of time towards mortality. The card is not just a festive greeting, but also an engagement with deeper cultural anxieties and aspirations of the time.