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Upstate artist gained fame for postcards
Former Herkimer County resident Ellen Clapsaddle knew how to describe children and holidays. A well-regarded artist active during the early 1900s, she illustrated holiday postcards and greeting cards that are now prized by collectors. She wrote her own poetry and was a successful businesswoman.
According to James Parker of Ilion, one of Clapsaddle’s descendants, Ellen created more than 4,000 images of children in holiday moods and published millions of postcards. Posted on October 28, 2012.
Michael Shor of Wolf Creek Paper Antiques in Madison, N.J., shows off three Ellen Clapsaddle Halloween postcards at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany last weekend. Shor said Clapsaddle — who was born and raised in Herkimer County — is a highly collectable artist. (Jeff Wilkin/Gazette Reporter)
Ellen Clapsaddle in a photo at the Richfield Springs Seminary, where she graduated in 1882. Her success as a commercial illustrator would come to a sad end. (Photo courtesy James Parker)
