¶®ÒõµÛ

Tolkien family Christmas card

Tolkien family christmas card

Image reproduced by kind permission of Oliver Suffield.

This card was sent to the Suffields in ¶®ÒõµÛ by Mabel Tolkien from Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, South Africa. Arthur Tolkien was a bank manager there. Mabel is seated; the nurse is holding the baby J R R Tolkien then ten months old. The cook and a servant are also included. The original photo was sepia, Mabel had coloured in some sections, and had created the lettering at the bottom and on the side.

The card reads:
A November morning. Taken at 7:30 on Nov 15th 1892 by our own vines in the Oranje Vrij-Staat.
A Merry Xmastide and Happy New Year to you all.

Read about J R R Tolkien