Victorian Christmas Greetings Card with Children & Stockings

The open fireplace itself seems oddly prominent and hypnotic, drawing the viewer's eye before registering that two children — one blonde and floor-bound in a white dress, one perched on a small chair wearing a blue outfit with an aggressively oversized red bow — stare into it with the thousand-yard focus of tiny detectives who suspect Santa of tax fraud. Above them, two small dark stockings dangle from the mantel like the world's least threatening crime scene evidence. The blonde child's curly hair and hugged knees give off major 'I have seen things' energy, while the darker-haired child looms behind her in a posture that can only be described as 'supportive but also slightly menacing.' Truly, no greeting card has ever made fireplace vigil look more like the opening scene of a Victorian psychological thriller.