A Buzza Company Christmas Card

A Buzza Company Christmas Card c1A Buzza Company Christmas Card c2

“A Happy Christmas Day

I hope you find this Christmas Day

The best you ever spent;

I hope it dawns with happiness

And closes with content.”

Signed,  Sis. Margaret.”  A beautiful Buzza Company Christmas card of candles and holly done in unusual colors of purple, aqua, pink, shimmery gold-tone and with black accents bringing out the Art Deco style.

George E. Buzza (1883 – 1957) founded The Buzza Company in Minneapolis, MN and started printing greeting cards in 1910. In 1928 he sold 52 percent of his stock in the company and moved to California. There he went into partnership with a former business associate and was president of the Hollywood greeting card company, Buzza-Cardozo. Buzza was hugely successful and is known for his innovative use of color, and employing well-known artists and writers.

See the detailed Find A Grave entry for George Earl Buzza, as well as the Buzza lofts article below. This Christmas card is the second Buzza card we’ve found, so we’ll start a new website category, and since there are a number of newspapers articles available we’ll put up a separate post for this publisher in the near future (to be able to add a little to others’ excellent research.)

Christmas card, circa 1910 – 1920s. Publisher:  The Buzza Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Price:  $20.00       Size:  3 and 1/8 x 6 and 3/4″

Sources:  Koutsky, L. (2013, April 23) Checking out the buzz at Buzza Lofts. The Journal. Retrieved from:  http://www.journalmpls.com/voices/voices/checking-out-the-buzz-at-buzza-lofts

Find A Grave Memorial# 109769477. April 30, 2013. Find A Grave. Web accessed December 25, 2015.

Bridal Shower Card

Bridal Shower Card 1Bridal Shower 2Bridal Shower 3

Bridal shower card, circa 1927 from The Buzza Co. The yellow ribbon attached to the card has produced some discoloration under the ribbon on the front and inside of the card.

Price: $20.00

“Here is wishing all your showers

Will be happy ones like this.

And that when you are a Mrs.

My gift will not come a-miss.”

It’s raining flowers in this absolutely lovely bridal shower card showing a young dark-haired bride-to-be in a yellow and white gown, and holding a cute little black umbrella. This is a Buzza Company card, and there is already a lot that’s been written about this company and it’s founder, so just a few quick facts:  Buzza was George E. Buzza (1883 – 1957) who started a greeting card company that became one of the largest in the United States. The first cards came out in 1910. The company was known for it’s high quality and innovation, and also produced other items like bridge score cards, etiquette and children’s books, and framed sentimental sayings. The card shown above opens almost in the center to reveal the message on the inside; the second image above was cropped so that the saying would be easier to read. The third image shown above is, of course, the back of the card, and you would hardly recognize that there is anything there unless you look very closely. At the bottom right there is a faint imprint showing “The Buzza Co. Craftacres. Mpls. U. S. A. Copyright 1924”  . Craftacres is a building name:  When the company, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, needed more space, Buzza had a new building constructed that was opened to it’s employees in May of 1927, and was named Craftacres.

Source:  Koutsky, L. (2013, April 23) Checking out the buzz at Buzza Lofts. The Journal. Retrieved from:  http://www.journalmpls.com/voices/voices/checking-out-the-buzz-at-buzza-lofts