Artistic Notes

What is it about this quote that has resonated so deeply with our customers, making it one of our favorite holiday cards sold this year?

George Wharton Edwards had a love for nature's details, and through our letterpress card, Live Oak, his love of beauty, precision, and quiet observation endures. George Wharton Edwards died in 1950 and left behind work that you can see today at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, and the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington, Delaware.

Receiving a Saturn Press card in the mail is already a special occasion. The rich impression of our letterpress printing, the wit and charm in the design, the weight of the paper in your hand—it all signals that this isn’t just any card. But when you add one of our unique letter seals, the experience becomes unforgettable. 

A handwritten thank-you note feels especially meaningful in a world that moves quickly. If you’ve ever wondered how to write one that feels genuine and personal, here are a few steps I like to follow:

Some of the most popular Saturn Press cards are in the Arts and Crafts style. There is a timeless beauty to the style that still appeals in the 21st century. The Arts and Crafts movement started around 1860, originating in Great Britain, and then making its way across the Atlantic to the United States. The movement was in response to growing industrialization, and the production of mass-produced items that, in the eyes of some, lacked beauty. Members of the movement wanted to revive the decorative arts and bring back fine craftsmanship. Arts and Crafts designs drew inspiration from nature's beauty. They demonstrated simplicity in form, as opposed to the heavy ornateness of the preceding Victorian era. Vivid flowers, dignified trees, and elegant birds were the stock in trade of the movement. When you see the work, you know it immediately for the joy it brings. The cards we have designed at Saturn Press are inspired by many of the leading artists of the movement including William De Morgan, C.F.A. Voysey, and Jane Berry Judson. Today you can see their original work on wallpaper and textiles at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. --- See our Arts and Crafts card collection inspired by this movement. --- See Sunflower Tile Design card. Learn more about William De Morgan. --- See Tree & Swallows card. Learn more about C.F.A. Voysey. --- See Autumn Road card (new for 2025). Learn more about Jane Berry Judson.  

Peacock Feather: Arthur Silver (1853–1896) was a British designer who specialized in textile and wallpaper designs during the Arts and Crafts movement. Notably he was the founder of the Silver Studio. He established the company in 1880 in Hammersmith, London and it designed and sold textiles to clients such as the famous Liberty Store, still trading successfully today in Regent Street, London. The Saturn Press card Peacock Feather is inspired by Arthur Silver’s pattern, Peacock Feathers. This design was one of Silver Studio’s most recognizable ones, being widely used for furnishings such as curtains and upholstery. The peacock feather was very popular during the Arts and Crafts movement - used on fans, dresses, hung on walls and displayed in vases. The feather represented the height of elegance and beauty because of its vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and its air of exoticism. The Silver Studio remained in business until 1963 by which time popular taste had moved on from the traditional and highly decorative patterns that the studio designed. In addition, manufacturing textiles in England was proving to be prohibitively expensive. Fortunately, the thousands of designs, drawings and patterns of the studio were preserved in a collection, which is today at the Middlesex University in London - where it continues to inspire new designers. Closer to home, the Art Institute of Chicago has an important collection of items from the Arts and Crafts Movement including textile designs by Arthur Silver. Below is another thing of beauty - another of Arthur Silver’s effervescent designs. --- See Peacock Feather card

Snow Stream: Carl Thiemann (1881 - 1966) was born in Carlsbad, Bohemia. He was a renowned painter and printmaker, especially respected for his woodcuts. He attended the Art Academy in Prague. In 1910 he became part of the Vienna Secession - an art movement that broke away from the academic, more traditional Vienna Academy of Arts. Artists in the movement, the most famous of which were Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, wanted to give equal status to all forms of art, not just fine arts. They asked why furniture, fiber arts and sculpture shouldn’t be considered on a par with oil painting? Carl Thiemann was known particularly for his beautiful color woodblock prints of landscapes featuring birch trees. The Saturn Press card Snow Stream is a good example of his work. The card depicts trees in a wintry landscape bowing quietly over a fast-moving stream. The colors are subtle, and the image is a reflective one. What catches your eye is the sense of harmony in the reflections of the trees in the water. Collections of Thiemann’s color woodcuts can be found at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and at the Albertina Museum in Vienna, Austria. --- See Snow Stream card

Wire Birds: Elizabeth Colwell (1881–1961), was an American printmaker, typographer and writer who became known for her distinctive designs, bookplates, hand-lettering, poetry and books. Colwell was born in Bronson, Michigan and spent much of her life in Chicago. In 1901, Colwell started her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago where she learned to cut, ink, and print woodblocks. She loved the art of Japanese woodblock printing and used this style to emphasize her austere visual language with a simple palette. She traveled to England where she studied under Emery Walker, a prominent figure in the Arts and Crafts movement and a master printer. In 1909 she published a book of poetry; Songs and Sonnets, which she designed and illustrated herself. In 1910, she published On the Making of Wood-Block-Color Prints. In 1916, as a typographer, she developed the "Colwell Hand Lettera"– at the time she was one of the only women in the field of typography. During the Depression, Colwell participated in the Works Progress Administration (WPA). One of her paintings from the period, Bowl of Fruit, a watercolor and tempera on panel, survives, and can be seen at Western Illinois University. Today, Elizabeth Colwell's woodblock prints can be seen at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and at the Minneapolis Museum of Art. Here is one of Colwell's fonts: --- See Wire Birds card

Sunflower Tile Design: William De Morgan (1839-1917) was a renowned English ceramicist. He was a key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, which emphasized traditional craftsmanship as a reaction to the industrialization of the late 19th century. Morgan attended the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where he studied fine art, but upon meeting William Morris, the artist, he dropped out to pursue a career as a designer. From 1863 to 1872, he worked with William Morris at Morris’ company, where he designed tiles, stained glass, and furniture. His tiles often recall medieval or Islamic design patterns. While working there he developed his unique glazes, especially luster glazes, that gave a shimmering quality to his ceramics. Eventually, De Morgan started his own company, where he continued to make distinctive vases and tiles. His tiles became particularly popular as they often featured animals, flowers, and fantastical creatures. Despite the success of the tiles, the company struggled financially as it proved hard to make intricately designed and complicated glazes profitably. Despite his sadness at closing the business, he rallied with a second career as a popular novelist. Our card, Sunflower Tile Design is based on a tile that William De Morgan designed and which today can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Collections of his work can be seen in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and at the De Morgan Foundation located in Barnsley, UK which has an unparalleled collection of his work and the work of his wife, the artist Evelyn De Morgan, who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. --- See Sunflower Tile Design card

Dandelions: William Edward Bloomfield Starkweather (W.E.B. Starkweather) was born on May 10, 1876, in Belfast, Ireland. He immigrated to the United States with his mother in 1884. He was a painter best known for his Impressionist landscapes that uniquely blended the American Impressionist Movement with Spanish art influences. He was also an influential art teacher and writer. He wrote important books about the artists John Singer Sargent and Francisco Goya. Starkweather studied at the Art Students League in New York, where he was taught by John Henry Twachtman, a member of the group of American Impressionists. It is most likely that Starkweather developed his interest in light and vibrant colors during this period, which he went on to practice in his own work. In November 1899, Starkweather went to Paris to begin his studies at the Académie Colarossi where he became enamored with the work of Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla. He contacted Sorolla and asked to be taken on as a student, and he spent three years learning from the Spanish master. Upon his return to the United States, Starkweather lectured extensively on Spanish art, published numerous works, and became an assistant curator at the Hispanic Society in New York City. Starkweather's paintings can be found in the Brooklyn Museum and the Hickory Museum in North Carolina. Our card Dandelions is inspired by his painting of the same name, which is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. --- See Dandelions card

Wisteria: Harriet Elizabeth Wilcox was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on March 4, 1850. She studied art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, which played an important role in training many of the artists who went on to work at Rookwood Pottery. Rookwood Pottery is a well-known American art pottery company that is known for its exceptional craftsmanship and unique glazes. It played an important part in the Arts and Crafts movement. Harriet, affectionately known as 'Hattie', worked at Rookwood from 1886 until the 1930s, allowing her to discover and experiment with a variety of glazes. Notably, she was among the few to decorate in black opal glaze, a testament to her artistic prowess. Some of her vases can be seen at the Cincinnati Art Museum, which has a significant collection of Rookwood Pottery. Saturn Press publishes Wisteria, adapted from a vase of hers, which is part of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. --- See Wisteria card  

Twilight Sheepscot River: Jane Berry Judson was an American artist born in 1868 in Jersey City, NJ, who died in Warsaw, NY in 1935. She was a printmaker and weaver known for her striking woodcuts in the Arts & Crafts style. Judson began her art studies at Pratt Institute in New York in 1904, the art college where Arthur Wesley Dow was a teacher. After becoming interested in printing she moved to England to study woodblock printing with the British master Allen Seaby, who was known for his vibrant woodblock prints of birds and animals. His work is noted for its delicate compositions and attention to detail, both attributes we see in Judson’s work. When she returned to the US, Judson moved to Castile, New York, where she painted mainly landscapes. Judson sought out other locales in the Northeast, including Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire and Sheepscot River in Maine, both locations noted for their striking natural beauty. Saturn Press publishes Twilight: Sheepscot River, a graceful drawing of the sun setting over Sheepscot River in Maine with a carefully observed rendering of the famous Maine fir trees. --- See Twilight Sheepscot River card --- See Autumn Road card

August Moon: Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922) was an American painter, printmaker, theorist, and teacher whose influence on the American Arts and Crafts movement was profound. His journey to Paris in 1884, where he studied at the Académie Julien, was a turning point. It was there that he was captivated by the aesthetics of Japanese art, particularly the use of line, color and composition, which he brought back to America, helping to inspire a new wave of American art. Arthur Wesley Dow later taught at the Pratt Institute and the Arts Students League in New York City. His most famous student was Georgia O'Keefe, who credited Dow's composition teachings with helping her artistic development. At Saturn Press, we have designed the card August Moon after a serene masterpiece by Dow. This celebrated woodblock print captures the tranquility of a moon setting on a quiet evening. The work, with its focus on line, balance, and simplified forms in muted colors, is a great example of Dow's special blend of American landscape and Japanese form. In 1922, Arthur Wesley Dow died in his hometown of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Dow often painted the salt marshes and rivers of Ipswich. During his lifetime, he also established an art center in Ipswich with his sister Mary Dow. The art center aimed to continue promoting his philosophy of art. --- See August Moon card

Tree & Swallows: “Never look at an ugly thing twice. It is fatally easy to get accustomed to corrupting influences.” - C.F.A. Voysey C.F.A. Voysey (Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, 1857–1941) was a prominent British architect, designer, and one of the founders of the English Arts and Crafts movement. Voysey designed not only buildings but also their interiors, furniture, wallpaper, textiles, and decorative items. He was a rare designer, similar in some respects to Frank Lloyd Wright, in that he found the art of creating a building to be a holistic act, not just focusing on one part, but always trying to see the whole. His work was characterized by simplicity, and often included stylized forms of animals, birds and flowers. Trees & Swallows was inspired by a design originally intended to be used for a woolen textile. A watercolor drawing of the design is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. --- See Tree & Swallows card