Birthday and Birthstone Postcards
One of the earliest postcards that related months to lucky gemstones and their symbolism as omens was the 1907 "Birthday Souvenir" by The Colortype Company. Ostensibly designed as a simple birthday card, suitable for anyone, it opened the door to a series of cards that delved into zodiacal gemstones magic and the language of flowers.
The poem on this card follows the familiar sing-song pattern i call "the English Enchantment," This scansion, with a variety of wording, is found on many fortune telling tea cups, as seen at our sister-site, The Mystic Tea Room in the page about Poetry on Cups and Saucers. Dating back at least to the Renaissance and the writing of William Shakespeare, such poetry is found to this day in "written" magical spells in Anglophone nations.
Among the gems that here abound
Your birthstone will be surely found
Good fortune may it always bring,
Tho' set in locket or in ring.
And may the years that to you come
Bring joy wherever you may roam;
May health and peace be ever yours
And love that thro' all time endures;
So look upon your birthstone here,
Where all the other gems appear,''
And know that yours I deem the best,
Tho' rare and beauteous be the rest.
All of the stones are arrayed on a single ribboned necklace, with words around each stone, as follows:
January: Garnet: Friendship
February: Amethyst: Sincerity
March: Bloodstone: Courage
April: Diamond: Purity
May: Emerald: Happiness
June: Agate: Health
July: Ruby: Love
August: Sardonyx: Felicity
September: Sapphire: Wisdom
October: Opal: Hope
November: Topaz: Fidelity
December: Turquoise: Success
Birthday and Birthstone Postcards
I have more than dozen different sets of these cards from a variety of publishers, and will keep adding sets to the list until they are all online and this little notice disappears.