Released on = May 2, 2007, 7:32 am

Press Release Author = Kovels.com

Industry = Consumer Services

Press Release Summary = Those cute 21st century Mother\'s Day cards can trace their
roots back to the turn of the
20th century, when syrupy sweet sentiments on embroidered samplers and framed prints
were given to many mothers on their special day.

Press Release Body = Cleveland, Ohio - May 2, 2007 - A 21st-century mother might
grow pale and wonder where she had gone wrong if she received a Mother's Day card
saying " 'Mother's Day.' What sweet remembrance mingles with its happy thought, like
fragrant breath of Maytime, by the smiling flowers brought." On Mother's Day,
today's sons and daughters say it with flowers, candy, gifts and perhaps a card with
a line or two of verse. But years ago, mothers treasured sentimental mottoes on
embroidered samplers and framed prints. The Victorian home had framed perforated
cardboard samplers stitched in wool with the motto "What Is Home Without Mother".
The 1920s home would hang a "gift motto," a framed print picturing an idealized
mother surrounded by sweet children in colonial dress and a poem, "..Who is
everybody's friend, The greatest gift that Heaven can send? Why, Mother!"

The Buzza Company, founded in Minneapolis in 1907, was the first big maker of gift
mottoes, framed lithographs with pleasant pictures and syrupy verses on family,
friendship, religion, patriotism, and other topics. For Mother, Buzza mottoes
expressed mushy sentiments like "No love like Mother Love ever has shone. No other
worship abides and endures, Faithful, unselfish and patient like yours"; and "God
sent the birds and sunshine, to gladden all the world. He sent the foliage and
flowers in radiance unfurled. He sent the June, the stars, the moon, the pearly
dewdrops sweet. And then He sent you Mother dear, to make it all complete." Very
popular in the 1920s and '30s, but not like popular cards today with sentiments like
Hallmark's "Mom, You always said, 'Someday, you\'ll thank me.' And as usual, you were
right! Thanks! (Love you!) Happy Mother's Day!" or "Just for you. Happy Mother's
Day!"

It might be fun to surprise Mother this year with a framed vintage, Buzza-type
motto. They can still be found online and at antique shops and shows for about
$20-$40.

For more information on antique Buzza prints and other vintage Mother's Day gifts,
Ralph and Terry Kovel are available for interviews with accredited media outlets. To
contact the Kovels send an email to hmakela@kovels.com . Please include your phone
number in your correspondence if you would like to talk to the Kovels.

About the Kovels
Ralph and Terry Kovel are the authors of more than 95 books about collecting and
antiques, including the best-selling annual "Kovels' Antiques and Collectibles Price
List." Hailed by Parade magazine as \"the duke and duchess of the antiques world,\"
the Kovels publish Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles (an award-winning newsletter)
and write a syndicated weekly newspaper column distributed to more than 150
newspapers. They appeared weekly on the HGTV program Flea Market Finds with the
Kovels. Their popular website with free price information is www.kovels.com. The
Kovels\' next book is "Kovels\' American Collectibles, 1900 to 2000," to be published
by Random House in July.



Web Site = http://www.kovels.com

Contact Details = Contact Info:
H. Makela
hmakela@kovels.com