Friday, April 25, 2008

Three Hundred Million Red Cross Seals

1916

Three hundred million Red Cross Christmas Seals are being printed in Cincinnati for the annual holiday campaign to be conducted under the joint auspices of the American Red Cross and The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis.

The campaign for the sale of Red Cross Seals this year will be larger than ever before. Although in 1915 the sale reached the record total of 80,000,000 seals, bringing in $800,000, it is expected that this year at least 100,000,000 seals or $1,000,000 worth will be sold. The sale will be organized from Alaska to the Canal Zone and from Hawaii to Porto Rico. Every state and territory in the United States will have seals on sale. New organizations will be working in a number of the western states, including Montana, Utah and Wyoming. Distribution of the seals is now under way.

The Red Cross Christmas Seal for 1916 was designed by Mr. T. M. Cleland of New York City. It shows a Santa Claus in red on a green background in the center panel with a pack on his back bearing a red cross. The lettering "A Merry Christmas" and "A Happy New Year" is carried vertically up and down the sides of the seal, while the date and the words "American Red Cross" are across the bottom of the seal. The poster effect given by this seal is very striking and makes an unusually handsome design.

No comments: