Greetings worth keeping: Cards from 1900 on display

My son, Jackson, turned 12 this July. He received two musical birthday cards to mark the event. Both of them play the tune, "Hey Now, You're a Rock Star."

Perhaps you've seen these musical cards, produced by Hallmark, and perhaps you've thought, like I have, has it come to this that even a simple greeting card has to have a computer chip and a speaker in it and actually play music to be engaging? Are we so jaded that even our greeting cards have to have a gimmick?

Not so fast to decry these as evidence of "what has our world come to!" The musical cards currently on the market fall into a type of greeting termed novelty cards, and they've been around for 100 years.

Novelty cards first emerged in the market around 1900, and took many forms. In those days, of course, there were no computer chips or speakers to make noise. The level of technology was much more commonplace. Postcards and greeting cards had squeekers in them, so that, when pressed, a bird would chirp or a mouse would squeek or, a person would make a rude noise.

Other innovations included parts that moved when twirled or manipulated in some way, or, among my favorites, cards designed so that hidden words or images would appear when held at a certain angle.

Then there are those cards that are simply made from unexpected materials, such as leather, wood, feathers or silk. These bear less resemblance to my son's "You're a Rock Star" card, because of how low key their novelty is -- not really involving technology except in terms of how materials are employed to get the card through the mail. But still, they are odd and quirky.

And, in 1900, getting one in the mail was probably just as cool as getting a musical card today.

These 100-year-old examples are on show at the Lake County Discovery Museum now through Oct. 8 in the exhibition "Lights, Die-Cuts, Action: The Fabulous World of Novelty Postcards."

The examples in the show are from the private collection of renowned postcard dealer and author, Susan Brown Nicholson. This is the first time her collection has been exhibited, and many of the pieces in the show are rare and hard-to-find.

"Lights, Die-Cuts, Action" coupled with the museum's other special exhibition currently on display, "HOOKED! The History and Ingenuity of Sport Fishing," which closes on Sept. 23, make for two great reasons to visit the museum in the coming weeks.

For more information or to download $1-off admission coupons, check out the museum Web site at www.lakecountydiscoverymuseum.org or by calling (847) 968-3400.

• Katherine Hamilton-Smith is the director of cultural resources for the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The Lake County Discovery Museum, a department of the forest preserve district, is an award-winning regional history museum on Route 176, west of Fairfield Road near Wauconda. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Call (847) 968-3400 for information.