Vintage Traditional Tibetan Hand Made Paper Notecards w/ envelopes

These note cards were in my bookshop that closed in 1980. They were produced by in Kathmandu, Nepal in the 1970’s.

The makers describe them this way:

“A traditional way of writing, but a new experience to others, from the Himalayan regions. Paper that is handmade, according to an ancient process, from the bark of Daphne bush is differently named as Tibet’s paper and the tree paper by the Tibetans and Nepalese respectively. This paper comes from the high Himalayan regions. The paper is hand printed with exotic wooden blocks hand carved in our work shop.

“2 of the cards: The man, and elephant, are auspicious signs from a Nepalese Fortune Tellers card. The painting of these symbols separately on the walls of the sitting room of the Nepalese is believed to be a very good omen, bringing good luck to the inhabitants.

“The 3rd card is Tibetan – Trema Sum – the auspicious union of opposite, an otter with a fish head, a snow lion with a Garuda’s head. They are all traditional enemies. A conch shell with a Chusin’s head. A touch from the conch shell is enough to destroy the Chusin, which is a great water beast. This is basically the idea of Positive/Negative (yin-yang) which pervades our philosophy.”

I have a number of sets of these block print cards. Because they are hand made there are slight differences in the look and feel of the paper – no two are alike – The block prints may be lighter or darker than the photos and may have small spots or wrinkles.

The cards are about 5×7″ and envelopes were made to fit the cards… 3 cards and envelopes in each order

First Class USPS at our rate for “collectibles”  Click shipping for details.