"Lilac Hedges Litchfield, Conn. John Donne's Sermon Christmas Card"
$125
[4] pp.
7 3/4" x 5 5/8"
Lilac Hedges was a greeting-card company in Litchfield, Connecticut in the 1950s and 1960s founded by Ralph P. Hinchman III (1921 – 2005).
Beginning with his own drawings of Litchfield houses, Hinchman created holiday cards to sell to friends in town. In order to expand, he needed to create a sample book from which customers could order. He decided to enlist artists he knew from New York, including Jac Venza, Hilary Knight (who would later achieve fame as the illustrator of the Eloise series of children’s books), Donn Sheets, Henry Bowman, and others—including a young Andy Warhol. Venza, became his co-creative director, a member of the company’s board, and took on the task of finding new artists.
They added a sales team. Major department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Bonwit Teller began carrying the line of cards. Needing to expand further, Hinchman invited Francis McIlhenney, a friend from Philadelphia, to be a business partner. McIlhenney focused on the daily operations of the business. The printer, Bill Exner, moved his press into the barn.