Merry Christmas 2025

Here at A Shroud of Thoughts is is our custom to post vintage pinups on various holidays, Christmas among them. Without further ado, then, there is this year's collection of pinups.

First up is the lovely Barbara Britton, who is posting her Christmas cards and parcels.

And here is Gina Lollobrigida decorating her tree.

And here is Kay English getting ready for Christmas!

And here's Janis Paige prepared for the cold weather. 

And here is the lovely Ann Blyth trimming her tree.

And there could be no better Christmas present than Ann Miller!

Merry Christmas!

Five Christmas TV Movies From When Hallmark Movies Were Good

Today the phrase "Hallmark movie" is somewhat derogatory, bringing to mind poorly made romance movies that are generally made according to a formula. Regardless, at one time Hallmark was known for making quality television movies. For decades, they produced the anthology series Hallmark Hall of Fame, which was well known for the calibre of its presentations. Indeed, Hallmark Hall of Fame won around 80 Emmy Awards through the years.

As might be expected, over the years Hallmark would producer several Christmas movies for Hallmark Hall of Fame and the Hallmark Channel in its early days, nearly all of which are superior to what the Hallmark Channel airs now. Here are five Hallmark Christmas movies from the past worth watching.

Amahl and the Night Visitors: Amahl and the Night Visitors was the very first Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. In fact, it aired on this date, December 24, in 1951.  It was an opera originally commissioned by NBC and was the very first opera ever commissioned for television. NBC found a sponsor in Hallmark Cards, and it aired under the heading of Hallmark Television Playhouse, which would be changed to Hallmark Hall of Fame soon enough. Amahl and the Night Visitors aired live upon its debut and it is not available on video. Fortunately, Amahl and the Night Visitors would be restaged several times, becoming one of the earliest annual Christmas traditions. The 1955 and 1978 versions are available on DVD.

The Littlest Angel: The Little Angel was a musical based on the children's book by Charles Tazewell. It debuted on Hallmark Hall of Fame on December 6, 1969, and was repeated in 1970 and 1971. It featured an all-star cast, including Johnny Whittaker as the Angel of the title, Fred Gwynne, Cab Calloway, John McGiver, Tony Randall, George Rose, E.G. Marshall, and Connie Stevens. It is enjoyable as the sort of children's musicals that were once popular on American television, such as Peter Pan and Cinderella. It is available on DVD and also on streaming services such as Tubi, Plex, and The Roku Channel.

A Season for Miracles: A Season for Miracles debuted as a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation on December 12, 1999. It starred Carla Gugino as Emilie Thompson, who has to flee with her niece and nephew when their drug addict mother overdoses and child services want to put them in foster homes. They wind up in the fictional town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Besides Carla Gugino, the cast featured Kathy Baker, Laura Dern, Lynn Redgrave, and Patty Duke as the mysterious angel who helps things along. A Season for Miracles proved to be popular and is available on both streaming and DVD.

Silver Bells: Silver Bells is another Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation and debuted on November 27, 2005. It starred Tate Donovan and Anne Heche, Tate Donovan plays a Christmas tree farmer who goes to New York City each year to sell his trees. One Christmas season his son (Michael Mitchell) runs away in New York City to pursue his dream of being a photographer. The film benefits from some sold performances and a good script. 

The Christmas Card: This is the one movie on this list that was not a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. Instead, it was a Hallmark Channel original, although it is as good as anything that has aired on Hallmark Hall of Fame. It debuted on December 2, 2006. It was made in cooperation with Operation Dear Abby, which encouraged people to send Christmas cards to troops serving over seas. The movie centres on  U.S. Army Sergeant Cody Cullen (John Newton), who is serving in Afghanistan. After having received a Christmas card from one of his fellow soldier's hometowns, he visits the town with a message for the late soldier's fiance and in doing so meets the woman who sent him the card. The cast included Ed Asner and Lois Nettleton. The movie proved very successful and was the Hallmark Channel’s highest-ever-rated program at the time it aired. Ed Asner was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. 

Sadly, it was not long after The Christmas Card aired that the quality of Hallmark movies went downhill. Eventually, even Hallmark Hall of Fame would even be affected. While Hallmark movies may not be particularly respected today, there was a time when they produced the very best television has to offer. 

Scrooge (1970)

Film adaptations of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens date back to at least 1901 when Scrooge or Marley's Ghost was released. Over the years several movie adaptations of the novel have been made, including MGM's A Christmas Carol (1938) and Scrooge (1951) starring Alastair Sim, have been released. It was perhaps inevitable that there would be a musical version of A Christmas Carol. Scrooge (1970), starring Albert Finney, was the first movie musical version of  the novel. It was also the first movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol to be filmed in colour. 

For the most part, Scrooge (1970) is faithful to A Christmas Carol. It centres on Ebeneezer Scrooge (Albert Finney), a money-lender and miser with little concern for anything beyond making money. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley (Alec Guinness), who tells him of three spirits who will visit him to give him a chance at redemption.

Scrooge (1970) was the product of composer, lyricist, and playwright Leslie Bricusse, who had written such musicals as Stop the World--I Want to Get Off (with Anthony Newley) and Pickwick (with Cyril Ornadel), as well as the movie musical Doctor Doolittle. Given his earlier work on Pickwick, based on Charles Dickens's novel The Pickwick Papers, it should perhaps be no surprise that Leslie Bricusse would think of adapting A Christmas Carol as a musical. 

Casting the lead role of Ebeneezer Scrooge would be all important to the success of the film. The role was first offered to Albert Finney. Albert Finney turned the role down, after which Richard Harris was signed to play the role. Richard Harris found himself tied up with the filming of his movie Bloomfield, and as a result he had to back out of Scrooge. The role was then offered to Rex Harrison, but it meant that the producers would have to buy him out of a play in which he was appearing at the time. Fortunately, Albert Finney reconsidered taking the role after having read the script. As mentioned earlier, Albert Finney was only thirty-four at the time he played Scrooge, younger than than Michael Medwin, who played Scrooge's nephew and was 46 at the time. Albert Finney had to spend over three hours in makeup in order to be transformed in to Scrooge.

Scrooge (1970) would prove to be be an unpleasant experience for Alec Guinness. In order to give the appearance that Jacob Marley's ghost was flying, Mr. Guinness had to be suspended in a harness for hours at a time. Ultimately, he developed a double hernia for which he had to have surgery. Amazingly enough, Alec Guinness never complained while he was on set, not even when he was in the harness. Other well-known British actors filled other roles in Scrooge (1970). Dame Edith Evans played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Kenneth More played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present. Because the Ghost of Christmas Present is a giant, as in the novel, and Kenneth more was 5' 7",  he had to wear twelve inch stilts so he would tower over Scrooge. Laurence Naismith and Kay Walsh played Mr and Mrs Fezziwig, while David Collings played Scrooge's clerk Bob Cratchit. 

Scrooge (1970) was filmed both on location in Buckinghamshire and in Shepperton Studios in Surrey between January and May 1970.  Shepperton Studios included its own Victorian streets and many of the sets used on Scrooge (1970) had recently been used on another Dickensian musical, Oliver! (1968), that had earlier filmed at Shepperton. Cinematographer Oswald Morris worked on both films.

Scrooge (1970) was directed by Ronald Neame, who already had experience with film adaptations of Charles Dickens movies. He was a camera operator on a 1934 adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop (1934) and hee produced director David Lean's adaptations of Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948). He made his directorial debut with Take My Life in 1947 and would go onto direct The Million Pound Note (1954), Gambit (1966), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). 

Scrooge (1970) premiered in Los Angeles on November 5, 1970. It had a Royal charity premiere at the Dominion Theatre in London on November 30, 1970. The movie most received positive notices from critics. Roger Ebert gave Scrooge three out of four stars and wrote, "The notion of Albert Finney playing Ebenezer Scrooge is admittedly mind-boggling, and so is the idea of A Christmas Carol being turned into a musical. But  Scrooge works very nicely on its intended level and the kids sitting near me seemed to be having a good time." Charles Champlin in The Los Angeles Times also gave Scrooge (1970) a good review, calling it "a lovely movie."Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a more mixed review, writing, "It is absurd, sentimental, pretty, never quite as funny as it intends to be, but quite acceptable, if only as a seasonal ritual." Pauline Kael in The New Yorker gave a rather more negative review in which she described the movie as an "Innocuous musical version of A Christmas Carol, starring Albert Finney looking glum. The Leslie Bricusse music is so forgettable that your mind flushes it away while you're hearing it."

Regardless of what critics thought, Scrooge (1970) proved to be popular with audiences. When it opened in limited release in Los Angeles and Chicago, it grossed $36,000 in its first week. The film even set a record at the time for a week's gross at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. It ultimately made $3 million in rentals. 

Scrooge (1970) would be nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Original Song Score, and Best Song -- Original for the Picture for "Thank You Very Much, It was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Art Direction.

Scrooge (1970) would be adapted to other media. In 1992, Leslie Briscusse adapted the film as a stage musical starring Anthony Newley. It opened at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham on November 9, 1992. In 2022, it was adapted as an animated feature film that was not particularly well-received. 

Fifty-five years after its release, Scrooge (1970) continues to be popular. While there have been other musical adaptations of A Christmas Carol since, none have attained the popularity that Scrooge (1970) has. Scrooge (1970) still appears on local stations around Christmas time, as well as the occasional cable channel (it has aired on Tuner Classic Movies in the past). It is widely available on streaming services, and this year can be sen on Amazon Prime Video, Frndly, Paramount+, Plex, Pluto, the Roku Channel, and YouTube, as well as for rent at Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Google Play. Scrooge (1970) remains one of the most beloved adaptations of A Christmas Carol. 

The 80th Anniversary of "Star in the Night"

Donald Woods and J. Carroll Naish in "Star in the Night"

Chances are good that if you have watched a lot of Turner Classic Movies during the Christmas season, then you have have seen a short subject titled "Star in the Night." Through repeat showings on TCM over the years, "Star in the Night" has become a favourite of many TCM fans, to the point that it is no longer counted as a mere interstitial, but as a featured presentation appearing on the TCM schedule. "Star in the Night' turned 80 this year. It was released on October 13, 1945.

"Star in the Night" centres on Nick Catapoli (J. Carroll Naish), who operates a small motel in the desert. Nick is cynical when it comes to Christmas, arguing that people behave poorly the rest of year and then fake being kind simply for the holidays. Nick finds his attitude changed with the arrival of a mysterious hitchhiker (Donald Woods) and then a young pregnant woman (Lynn Baggett) and her husband (Tony Caruso). It is essentially a cross between A Christmas Carol and the story of the Nativity.

"Star in the Night" was based on a story by Robert Finch, who would go onto write for such TV series as Hour Glass, Lights Out, and The Clock. Its screenplay was written by Saul Elkins,. who had written such films as Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) and Women in Prison (1938). The film marked the directorial debut of Don Siegel, who would go onto direct such movies as The Verdict (1946), Invasion of the Body Snatchers ((1956), The Lineup (1958), and Dirty Harry (1971). He began his career at the Warner Bros. library and became part of the studio's editorial department, creating montages for movies from Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) to Casablanca (1942). After providing montages for several Warner Bros. films the studio let him direct the short "Star in the Night" and the documentary short "Hitler Lives." 

The cinematography on "Star in the Night" was by Robert Burks, who began working in the film industry as a special effects photographer on Marked Woman in 1937. His first film as a cinematographer was the short "Jammin' the Blues." "Star in the Night" was the fifth film for which he provided cinematography. He also provided cinematography for Don Siegel's aforementioned documentary short "Hitler Lives." He would go onto work with Alfred Hitchcock on several films, including Strangers on a Train (1951), I Confess (1953), Rear Window (1954), and North by Northwest (1959), among others. 

"Star in the Night" has a strong cast. It gave J. Carroll Naish what may be his best role in the form of of Nick, one of the many ethnic parts he played in his long career (Nick was Italian American). Donald Woods, who played the hitchhiker, may be best known today for playing Dennis Lindsay, the husband of  Carmelita Fuentes (Lupe Vélez) in the first few Mexican Spitfire movies. He also appeared in movies from A Tale of Two Cities (1935)  (1935) to 13 Ghosts (1960). The film also features legendary character actor Dick Elliott as one of the motel's customers. Dick Erdman, who later appeared in the movie Stalag 17 (1954),  provided voices for several cartoons, and made numerous guest appearances, played one of three cowboys who see Nick's sign (a rather big, neon star) and decide to ride to it. Another cowboy was played by Johnny Miles, who appeared in minor roles in several movies form 1944 to 1950. A third cowboy was played by Cactus Mack. Cactus Mack was a cousin of both Rex Allen and Glenn Strange, and made a career out of appearing in B-Westerns and later TV Westerns, He played multiple roles on such Western TV shows as Lawman and Gunsmoke. 

"Star in the Night" won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel) at the 18th Academy Awards. It was at that same awards that Don Siegel's documentary short "Hitler Lives" won the Oscar for est Short Documentary Film. In winning Academy Awards in two different categories of short subjects allowed Don Siegel to finally break into directing feature films. He would make his directorial debut with the classic film noir The Verdict in 1946. 

"Star in the Night" launched the directorial career of Don Siegel and provided J. Carroll Naish with a rare starring role. It certainly stands out from other Christmas-themed, theatrical shorts made over the years. Indeed, eighty years after its premiere "Star in the Night" remains popular. 

The 57th Birthday of My Beloved Vanessa Marquez

It was on December 21, 1968 that actress Vanessa Marquez was born. She was perhaps best known for playing Ana Delgado in the classic movie Stand and Deliver (1988) and Nurse Wendy Goldman on the hit TV show ER. Of course, if you're a regular reader of this blog or you follow me on social media, you also know that she was a dear friend of mine. Even now, over seven years after her death, I still miss Vanessa. Today is then a bittersweet day for me.

Of course, I do have to point out that my friendship with Vanessa Marquez was in many ways nothing unusual. Perhaps because she suffered from agoraphobia at different times in her life, Vanessa made many friends online, many of whom she would stay in touch with through phone calls and texts as well as emails and social media. Even though she never met any of them in person, as was the case with me, she became very close to many of them. Indeed, she even named one of our mutual friends as next of kin. There are those who claim that friends made online are not "real" friends, but I know from experience that is not true, and I know that Vanessa would agree with me.

Regardless, there would be good reason that many would have affection for Vanessa. She was much more than just a talented, beautiful, well-known actress. She was a kind, compassionate, loving, and intelligent woman. She cared deeply for her friends. She worried about them if they were ill or not doing well, and was happy for them when they were successful. When Jaime Escalante (the teacher upon whom the movie Stand and Deliver was based) developed cancer, she was unflagging in raising funds for his treatment. Vanessa's compassion extended to living things beyond human beings as well. For at time, she volunteered at the animal shelter in Pasadena. Vanessa also had a wonderful sense of humour. Even when she was at her sickest, she remained upbeat. I could have an absolutely horrible day, and talking with Vanessa would cheer me up. 

This year for Vanessa's birthday, I thought I would do something special. I created a slideshow video as a tribute to her. Given I did it on my phone, it is fairly basic, with little in the way of editing, but it does feature several screen captures from her movie and TV appearances,as well as photos of Vanessa. For the song, I chose "In My Life" by The Beatles. I don't know if it was her favourite Beatles song or not, but I do know for a fact that she loved the song. Anyway, I do hope she appreciates it. Happy birthday, Vanessa. 

85 Years of Remember the Night (1940)

When many think of Barbara Stanwyck and the holidays, they may well think of Christmas in Connecticut (1945), but it was not the only Christmas movie she made, let alone the first. Five years earlier, Barbara Stanwyck appeared in a Christmas movie with a script by no less than Preston Sturges. Remember the Night( (1940) would be historic for multiple reasons. What is more, it remains popular over eighty-five years after its release.

Remember the Night (1940) starred Barbara Stanwyck as Lee Leander, a thief arrested for stealing a bracelet from a jewellery store in New York City. In charge of her case is assistant district attorney Jack Sargent (Fred MacMurray), who has the trial postponed as it started right before Christmas. Unfortunately for Lee, this means that she might well spend Christmas in jail. This fills Jack with guilt, and as a result he has her bailed out and offers to take her home to spend Christmas with her mother on his way to visit his own family. As it turns out, Lee's mother is a bitter, unloving woman, and as a result Lee spends the holidays with Jack's family. As might be expected, in the process the two of them find themselves falling in love against their better judgement.

Like many of his films, Preston Sturges drew inspiration from his own life for Remember the Night (1940). The idea of Lee and Jack falling in love while on a road trip to Indiana came from a road trip Preston Sturges took with Elanor Post Hutton to Palm Beach, Florida. The two would later marry. Jack's mother was based upon his third wife Louise Sargent's mother, who was a farm wife who lived near Fort Dodge, Iowa. It was from Louise Sargent's mother that Jack and his family received the surname "Sargent." Preston Sturges worked hard on Remember the Night (1940), and it was not a particularly easy script to write. According to his wife at the time, Louise Sargent, he only would only stop working it was clear his secretary Gillette could no longer continue. Curiously, while Remember the Night (1940) is one of Barbara Stanwyck's better known films, Preston Sturges wrote the movie with Carole Lombard in mind for the role of Lee. 

The film was not always going to be called Remember the Night (1940). Preston Sturges wanted to call the film, Beyond These Tears, from a traditional Scottish poem, a title that Paramount rejected. A working title was The Amazing Marriage, even though marriage does not appear in film. Another title suggested by Preston Sturges was Great Love.

The director on Remember the Night (1940) was Mitchell Leisen, who had earlier directed Preston Sturges's movie Easy Living (1937). Much to Mr. Sturges's chagrin, Mr. Leisen cut a good deal of his script. Much of the reason that Mitchell Leisen made changes to Preston Sturges's script was to play to his stars' strengths. In Preston Sturges's original script, the character of Jack (Fred MacMurray) was a somewhat showy lawyer who made epic speeches, something at odds with the quiet dignity of many of Fred MacMurray's characters. In cutting many of Jack's lines, Mitchell Leisen was better able to play to Fred MacMurray's strengths as an actor. As Mitchell Leisen reworked Preston Sturges's script, he shifted the focus of the film from Jack to Lee. Remember the Night (1940) does include some in-jokes referencing the earlier Preston Sturges script Mitchell Leisen had directed, Easy Living (1937). The song "Easy Living," which Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin had written for the movie Easy Living (1937), plays at the supper club to which Jack takes Lee. When Lee gives a false name at one point in the movie, it is "Mary Smith," the name of the lead character of Easy Living (1937) played by Jean Harlow.

Remember the Night (1940) proved to be a pivotal film for Barbara Stanwyck. It was the first film that she made with Fred MacMurray. The two of two of them would make three more films together, including the classic noir Double Indemnity (1940), The Moonlighter (1953), and There's Always Tomorrow (1956). Preston Sturges frequented the set and as a result he spent time talking with Miss Stanwyck. One day he told her that he would write a screwball comedy for her. It was the following year that Barbara Stanwyck starred in Preston Sturges's film The Lady Eve (1941). 

Mitchell Leisen was impressed by Barbara Stanwyck's professionalism. In the biography Mitchell Leisen, Hollywood Director by David Chierichetti, he is quoted as saying, "Barbara Stanwyck was the greatest . She never blew one line through the whole picture . She set that kind of pace and everybody worked harder , trying to outdo her." Mr. Leisen also related how Barbara Stanwyck had a bad back, but insisted on remaining on the set during a long scene despite the fact that the corset she was required to wear caused her a good deal of pain. Ultimately, Remember the Night (1940) was completed $50,000 under budget and eight days ahead of schedule, the credit for which Mitchell Leisen gave to Barbara Stanwyck and her professionalism. 

Beulah Bondi, who plays Jack's mother, actually was an Indiana native, much like her character.Remember the Night(1940) was one of only two films she made that was set in her home state. The other was the Disney movie So Dear to My Heart (1948), which was set in rural Indiana.

Strangely enough, even though most of the plot of Remember the Night (1940) unfolds from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day, the film went into limited release on January 1, 1940, and went into wide release on January 19, 1940. New York Times critic Frank S. Nugent praised the film, writing, "After dallying too long with the leftovers of 1939, the screen has awakened finally to a new year and new entertainment responsibilities. Remember the Night,  presented at the Paramount yesterday, is the real curtain-raiser for 1940, the first word of reassurance Hollywood has offered since '39 went into the past." The Hollywood Reporter also gave Remember the Night  a good review, writing, "All that Remember the Night needs to make it one of the best pictures to come from Paramount in many a day is a slight tightening up of one or two sags by eliminating some superfluous footage. Aside from this, it has everything, a heart-warming story based on a distinctly unique premise, sparkling comedy which always has a latent heart tug, superlative performances, an excellent script, top notch production and direction." Remember the Night (1940) was not a box office smash, although it proved to do moderately well. 

Remember the Night (1940) would twice be adapted to other media. On March 15, 1940, Lux Radio Theatre aired an hour-long adaptation with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray reprising their roles as Lee and Jack. The show did another adaptation of the movie on December 22, 1941, this time with Jean Arthur as Lee and Fred MacMurray as Jack. On May 5, 1955, Lux Video Theatre did a television adaptation of the movie, with Jan Sterling as Lee and Don DeFore as Jack. 

As mentioned earlier, Remember the Night (1940) would prove to be a historic movie. In addition to being the first of four movies that Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray made together and leading Preston Sturges to write The Lady Eve (1940), it was also the last movie Preston Sturges wrote that he would not also direct. Frustrated by the cuts that Mitchell Leisen had made to his script and earlier instances in which his screenplays had been changed,  Preston Sturges decided that henceforth he would direct his own scripts. It was then that Preston Sturges made his directorial debut with The Great McGinty (1940).

In the Fifties, Remember the Night (1940) began airing on television. While it would often be shown during the Christmas station on local stations in the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, it was sometimes shown at such odd times as June and even August. It would be one of the Christmas classics that AMC would air every December when AMC was still American Movie Classics. It has also aired on such cable channels as Oxygen and The Disney Channel. Remember the Night (1940) has aired each year on TCM, introducing it to whole new generations of fans.

Through repeated showings on TCM over the years, Remember the Night (1940) has developed a following, to the point that it can quite rightfully be considered a beloved holiday classic. Over eighty-five afters its original release, Remember the Night (1940) is still picking up new fans. 

Some Old Time Christmas Cards

The first ever Christmas card was commissioned by Sir Heny Cole commissioned that first Christmas card on May 1, 1843, with its illustration provided by John Callcott Horsley. Christmas cards soon caught on and, by the late Victorian Era, they were popular on both sides of the Pond. Of course, by today's standards some Christmas cards from the Victorian and Edwardian Eras would seem downright bizarre and even morbid by today's standards. Here are a few vintage Christmas cards.

A dead robin hardly seems Christmasy, but I am guessing this card is rooted in Irish traditions surrounding St. Stephen's Day. The wren was thought to represent the old year, while the robin represented the New Year. Capturing one of these birds was then thought to be good luck.

The image of Santa Claus dumping a child into a sack is shocking to modern eyes, but at one time Santa was believed to pack the naughtiest of children away in a sack, not unlike Krampus. 

Another card with a robin, although this bird is much luckier than the one above. This card from circa 1880 features a group of elves serenading the robin with musical instruments, which the robin probably finds much more preferable to the fate some humans would deliver him. 

Not every Christmas card in the Victorian and Edwardian Eras were quite so bizarre. Cats were as popular in the Victorian Era as they are now. Here's a cute card of kittens drinking a bowl of milk. 

This card featuring cats buying oranges and eggs from a market stall, despite the fact that most cats I know have no use for oranges! This card came out in 1903 and was listed in the Raphael Tuck & Sons' Ltd. 1904/1905 catalogue.

While some Victorian and Edwardian Christmas cards seem downright bizzare, some could be rather pretty. Here is an example of one that is a pretty. It is a New Year's card featuring a British mail coach, probably form the 1870s or 1880s.