My brother-in law, Gene Maienshein, whose mother created the Pansy Card for Hallmark Cards as a Mother's day card in 1939
Pansy Card
Facts
Hallmark introduced the pansy card as a Mother’s Day card design in 1939. The price was a nickel.
The illustration on the original pansy card was created by Hallmark artist Dorothy Maienschein.
The name “pansy” may be derived from the French word “pensee,” meaning “thought.”
During Victorian times, flowers had a language all their own. People used flowers to convey all different sorts of messages — friendly or not. For instance, you could actually insult someone with a bouquet!
Though calling someone a pansy isn’t very nice, the flower itself is fairly hardy. It handles cool weather very well — but it does “wimp out” when it gets too warm.
Hallmark’s Longest-Running Greeting Card – The Pansy Card
The pansy card was introduced as a Mother's Day card in 1939, selling for a nickel. Hallmark reissued the design as a thinking-of-you card in 1941.
The pansy card remains in Hallmark’s line today and sells for 99 cents.
Since Hallmark began tracking sales in 1942, consumers have purchased almost 30 million pansy cards – more than any card in history.
The original watercolor design for the card was created by the late Dorothy Maienschein, a member of Hallmark’s design staff until her retirement in the late 1970s. The watercolor design was painted from a model of a small porcelain cart with real pansies. Although the card has been repainted, the original design has remained the same for 71 years.
The outside of the pansy card reads: To let you know I'm thinking of you. Inside, the verse continues: Pansies always stand for thoughts – at least that's what folks say. So this just comes to show my thoughts are there with you today.
In conjunction with Hallmark's centennial, the United States Postal Service (USPS) introduced its 2010 Love stamp in April, featuring an image of a white woven basket brimming with purple pansies – taken from the original Hallmark pansy card design.