Product type: Greeting cards
The Medici Society was founded in 1908, by Philip Lee Warner and Eustace Gurney. The company's original aim was to bring artists' work to the appreciation of a wider public, and subjects were chosen for their artistic value, beauty or sentiment and were sold "for the lowest price commercially possible". The name Medici was selected after the great Florentine family who did so much to encourage art in the Italian Renaissance.
Initially, the business was run as a society, and members were invited to join and pay a subscription, which entitled them to copies of prints as they were published at no extra charge. This structure was later revised and the prints were sold commercially through shops and galleries.
Products
Medici started to publish greeting cards in the 1930s, and some of the artists whose work was published in those days are still in print in the iconic Blue Label art range today. The company also diversified into other publications including social stationery, advent calendars, and seasonal cards.
The greetings card division of Medici was sold to Paper House in July 2008, and Medici Cards now operates from Gloucester; a very sprightly 101 years old!
More information
To view the collection, please visit the Medici website. Also available at RHS shops.