Pages

Friday, February 3, 2012

Lotsa Hearts, Lotsa Flowers . . .










BIRTHDAY BOOK
The above cards are ones my brother in law made in the seventies/eighties. 
I have some of the these designs in his original cards, plus other cards of his.   
The name of his company was Birthday Book.

His first creation was a poster with all the dates in the year,
listing well known people and their birth dates.  
I can also claim possession of one of the first Birthday Book posters.

The poster and card company flourished.  "He made his mark"
in a card shop in NYC which was named,
Birthday Book.

His cards caught on with a passion and
the names of his clientele would be known by many of you.
 Phelps died in the late eighties. 
Some of his dreams died with him. 

This past summer
my daughter and I were reminiscing about 
"Uncle Phelps."
 
He was Scott and Sue's
flamboyant, creative, eccentric, generous, crazy fun uncle.

He brought tremendous joy to all of our lives. 
It was because of him that we each learned to
"step out of our box" and look, see, try.
We were introduced to "the city,"
 experienced 
theater, dance, music, diversity, 
city life, foods and fine dining.

Receiving a gift from Uncle Phelps was like no other.
Suzie liked bubble gum, she received a large box filled with gum, all colors.
Scott liked tube socks, he received one hundred socks, all colors plus white.
Each sock had a one dollar bill inside.
It was up to Scott to match things up.

We received crazy hats, clothing we would never wear,
books we didn't read at the time but now
we realize the wealth of each of those treasures.  

In his death,
we lost touch of his cards,
his posters, of Birthday Book.

As Suzie and I visited and reminisced,
we started looking to see if we could find evidence of his work.
Thus after several clicks and searches
we were able to locate his designs tucked in a
portfolio of a company he had also worked with.

Phelps would be giggling and smiling with joy
 to think that you were viewing some of his designs.

Memories are gifts
and they live on for always.

giving  receiving
surprise someone
this year
with a card

mention
 happy memories

remember 
LOVE


12 comments:

Jill said...

Oh Lynne...I just love these precious memories of yours. Phelps sounds like he was a wonderful, fun loving, creative person and I adore his designs. I'm so glad you were able to locate them!

At Home in English Valley said...

Oh Lynne , I would have loved Phelps, and his art was awesome. He sounds like a spectacular Uncle, and the gifts were over the top!!! Today is a day for remembering for me too! Thanks for sharing... Phelps, even his name was cool! Love, penny

TexWisGirl said...

i know you've posted a couple of these before. how sweet to remember him and his creative designs! and i loved the story of his gifts to your kids!!!

Pamela Gordon said...

Lynne, I'm so glad you found and shared your late brother in law's artwork. He must have been such a wonderully creative person. This is a lovely tribute. Blessings to you. Hugs, Pamela

Barb said...

What a fun loving uncle and brother in law he must have been. I love his cards.
barbie

koralee said...

Oh I love these...it is so good to remember his amazing talents. Happy weekend.

Rain said...

Lynne-lovely post and tribute to your brother! He was a gift to you and your children. The memories are priceless that he gave you!!
~~Rain

Raindrops and Daisies said...

What a lovely tribute Lynne. x


I am trying to catch up with everyone after been missing for so long, I don't think I will ever manage to read all that I have missed!!!

I hope that you are well and that the weather is not too cold where you are.

We have escaped snow so far, so hoping it stays that way!

I have missed you and your lovely words.


Fiona xxx

Pondside said...

Every family should have an Uncle Phelps! My children have a 'Big Auntie', so named because she shared a name with another (much taller and heavier) aunt. I think the 'Big' referred to her spirit, and the name has stuck, to this day.
Such a lovely tribute to your brother.

Jenny Woolf said...

What a wonderful memorable character, no wonder you remember him with such love. People like that brighten up life!

Nancy's Notes said...

Oh my, he sounds like he was a wonderful man, full of love! What a great tribute to him. I'm so happy I found your great blog!

Nancy

Gail said...

I think I have seen some of his designs. These are fantastic. It is good that you have memories, sad that he is gone.