TYE CRINGLE FALL. 1972. CHRISTMAS CARD.

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1972
25.9 x 11.4cm, 4pp Xmas card with the descending textL

tye
cringle
fall

shippon
parrel
carling
bitt
gooseneck
traveller
beam
tabernacle
manger
crib

The words “shippon”, “manger” and “crib” are printed in red, the rest in black. A shippon is a cattle shed so the three red words relate to a visual poem of the Jesus birth scene. The other words all relate to ropes and knots or masts in sailing.
The placing of the words all left aligned suggest a mast on a ship. Finlay has referenced ships in the biblical story of the supposed virgin birth (the card “I See Three Ships” is one such example which takes its title from a festive carol) and the arrival of a ship seems to signify a welcoming or greeting of an event for Finlay. Of course the return or arrival of a boat in a fishing village would have such significance when every trip was a risk to the lives of the sailors and by extension the community.
Released as the annual Wild Hawthorn Xmas card the date 25 December is printed at the bottom of the card also in red. VG+.