Postcard Delight: New Year's edition

To end my 2006 post card frenzy, here are two New Year cards for ya.

On the first card, a violin player with the head of a wild pig, playing a song celebrating the New Year. In this case, that was probably 1911 (or maybe 1923?), as that is the year of the pig on the Chinese Zodiac. The sender of the card recommends the recipient—another Nakamura-san who was in a Yokosuka hospital at the point of writing—to listen to the pig's violin play in order to cheer up her day.

The second card is my all time favorite: a beautiful New Year's card I found in a tiny store in Yufuin, Kyūshū. The owner of the store told me he was born in the year the card was posted, which seems to be Taishō 8 (1920)—or is it Shōwa 8 (1934)? Anyway, I hope you enjoy its elegant Art Deco design!