Betsey
Clark
Seven ornaments spanning the entire arc of Betsey Clark's presence in the Hallmark Keepsake catalog — from 1973, the very first year Hallmark made ornaments, through 1993. The 1973 Deer and Lamb is in The Henry Ford. It is the first ornament in the first Hallmark Keepsake series ever made. A frosted glass ball, 3¼ inches in diameter, $2.50 in 1973, now in a museum. "The greatest joy of Christmas Day comes from the joy we give away."
🏛️ The 1973 Deer and Lamb — In The Henry Ford · The First Hallmark Keepsake Ever Made
The 1973 Betsey Clark "Deer and Lamb" ornament (XHD1102) is in the permanent collections of The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Its significance cannot be overstated: it is both the first ornament in the Betsey Clark series and the first ornament in the entire Hallmark Keepsake line. The Henry Ford's record describes it as "A frosted glass Christmas ornament from a collection of 6 Hallmark originals. This design by Betsey Clark. Diameter 3¼ inches. $2.50." It depicts a little girl feeding a baby deer on one side and a girl holding a lamb on the other. It is dated 1973 on the ball itself. Hallmark began producing Keepsake ornaments in 1973 — and Betsey Clark's artwork was the face of that founding collection.
Betsey Clark — The Illustrator Who Started It All
Betsey Clark was an American illustrator whose work for Hallmark began in the 1960s — rosy-cheeked children in idyllic seasonal scenes, fluffy animals, heartwarming depictions of childhood innocence and holiday warmth. Her style was unmistakable: soft, nostalgic, sweet without being saccharine, rendered in the greeting card tradition that Hallmark had perfected across decades of cards before it produced a single ornament. When Hallmark launched its Keepsake ornament line in 1973 — "Tree Trimmers," as the original packaging called them — Betsey Clark's artwork was one of the six designs in the founding collection. Her glass ball ornaments (3¼ inches in diameter, frosted glass, her illustrations printed on the surface, dated on the ball) launched what became the Hallmark Keepsake tradition.
The original Betsey Clark series ran from 1973 through 1985 — thirteen consecutive entries, one per year, each a glass ball with new Betsey Clark artwork. The 1981 entry (#9) features children carrying gifts to a sled in front of a rustic house with a Christmas tree glowing in the window, and the verse: "The greatest joy of Christmas Day comes from the joy we give away." When the original series concluded in 1985, Hallmark immediately began a new numbered series: Betsey Clark: Home for Christmas (1986–1991), followed by Betsey Clark's Christmas (1992–1995). Three series, twenty-plus consecutive years, the same sweet nostalgic children in the same glass ball tradition. The seven ornaments at Already Christmas span all three series — from the founding 1973 glass ball in The Henry Ford to the 1993 "Happy is the Memory" closing entry.
"Glass ball ornament depicts the Betsey Clark images — a little girl feeding a baby deer. Another scene has a girl holding a lamb. Ornament is dated on the ball — 1973. This was the initial year of the Hallmark Keepsake ornament line. First in the Betsey Clark series."
— The Ornament Shop description, 1973 Betsey Clark #1 "Deer and Lamb" · XHD1102 · Dated 1973 · First in Betsey Clark series · First Hallmark Keepsake ornament ever · In The Henry Ford
Tips for the Collection
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01The 1973 Deer and Lamb is in The Henry Ford and is the first Hallmark Keepsake ever produced — give it the most prominent position on the tree. The 1973 XHD1102 is not just the first Betsey Clark ornament or the first series ornament — it is the founding artifact of the entire Hallmark Keepsake tradition. Every ornament in this catalog, every ornament on every Already Christmas page, exists because Hallmark started producing Keepsake ornaments in 1973 with this glass ball. Display it prominently at eye level, where guests can see the deer and lamb scenes and the 1973 date on the ball.
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02Display the original series entries (#1, #2, #9, #11, #13) in number sequence alongside the later series entries. The five entries from the 1973–1985 original series — Deer and Lamb (#1), Musicians (#2), Children and Sled (#9), Baby on Moon (#11), Angels on Clouds (#13) — span twelve years of the founding series and show its progression. Display them in number order, then the 1990 Home for Christmas (#5 of its series) and the 1993 "Happy is the Memory" as the modern continuation. The full arc of Betsey Clark at Hallmark, in sequence.
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03All 7 Betsey Clark Hallmark ornaments — 1973 through 1993 — are at Already Christmas. The first Hallmark ornament ever (in The Henry Ford). Musicians in 1974. Children carrying gifts in 1981. A baby sleeping on the moon in 1983. Angels playing on clouds in the final original series entry in 1985. Home for Christmas in 1990. Happy is the Memory in 1993. Twenty years. Three series. The founding Hallmark artist. All seven here.
Every Betsey Clark Hallmark Keepsake Here
The first Hallmark ornament ever made. Six more across twenty years. Click to shop.
In 1973, Hallmark produced its first Keepsake ornaments — "Tree Trimmers," they called them, a collection of 6 Hallmark originals. One of them was a frosted glass ball, 3¼ inches in diameter, $2.50, with Betsey Clark's illustration of a little girl feeding a baby deer. It is now in The Henry Ford museum. It is the first ornament in the first Hallmark Keepsake series ever made. The year is printed on the ball: 1973. Fifty years later, the artists who followed Betsey Clark at Hallmark have produced thousands more — the Hot Wheels, the Rudolphs, the Ghostbusters, the Holiday Barbies. All of them came after this glass ball and the rosy-cheeked girl feeding a deer. "The greatest joy of Christmas Day comes from the joy we give away." All seven here.
✦ Part of our Collection: The Founding Hallmark Keepsake Tradition, Explored ✦