More than a century after it was mailed, a Christmas card between friends is still bringing holiday cheer.
The card, which was printed in Germany, features an embossed portrait of a smiling Santa Claus framed by snow. Dark green holly leaves surround the ornately embossed phrase “Christmas Wishes.”
Retha Tanner of Vicksburg has the card as part of a collection her mother left behind when she died in 1956.
“I’ve had them all of these years. I wouldn’t even let my children play with them,” Tanner said.
When Tanner, who is the sister of the late Warren County Sheriff Paul Barrett, pulls out the card, she thinks of Christmases past and growing up in rural Yazoo County.
“We had a tree with nothing to go under it. We cut it in the woods, but didn’t have anything to put on it but sweet gum balls,” Tanner said.
Still, there were happy times. Her mother, Ellen McCluskey Barrett would cook a hen, vegetables and pies. Presents were sparse.
“We got an apple and orange,” Tanner said.
No wonder, such an elegant Christmas card became a family heirloom.
The card designed by famed greeting card artist John O. Winsch is in pristine condition for its age. The postmark from Dec. 24, 1913 hasn’t faded a bit over a penny stamp featuring a crystal clear profile portrait of George Washington.
Winsch created some of the country’s most iconic greeting cards between 1907 and 1915 when Hallmark was a fledgling company rather than the industry leader. Winsch’s cards were printed in Germany, and some card collectors believe World War I put him out of business.

The personalized message written on the back of the card is also in excellent condition.
“I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year,” said the cursive message signed by Lorene Thames of Hattiesburg.
The card is addressed to Miss Emma Dorrill of Edinburgh, Miss., which is in Leake County. Dorrill, who Tanner says is probably a distant cousin or aunt, was born in Attala County in 1873, according to 1910 census records. Tanner’s mother was born in 1904 and was 9 when the card was mailed from Hattiesburg.
It is unclear how Thames and Dorrill knew each other. Little information was available on genealogical websites about Dorrill.
Thames, according to census and college records, was a piano instructor at Mississippi Normal College — now University of Southern Mississippi — in Hattiesburg in 1910.  She remained on staff there until at least 1917, according to college records.
Until recently, Tanner was unsure who had sent the postcard.
“I’ve never tried to read them. They are so old I was just amazed by them,” she said.