Fewer of the unique crafted HTL's were manufactured, and at today's prices these extravagantly designed and heavily embossed postcards can cost up to several hundred dollars, each. According to Williams the HTL collecting mania has been very active for a long time. He advises anyone that does not have one, not to wait very long when deliberating over a purchase, if a fine collection is to be built. Searching through shoe boxes at antique shows, garage sales and flea markets is almost useless, he says. Williams pointed out that collectors should be careful not to confuse HTL's with transparency cards, although their beauty is also captured by holding the card to the light.
Transparencies are also rare, difficult to find, they sell for much less than the die-cut varieties.
The difference between the types of the transparencies do not have any section cut out. Instead the card's front is constructed using a layer of paper, thin enough to see the color line drawing underneath. The HTL Tom William's collection were made in Europe or Spain nearly one hundred years ago and were distributed through-out the continents as well as to jobbers in the United States. The sentiments on the cards shipped were appropriately printed in various languages so that particular ethnic groups could convey Christmas wishes in their mother tongues. Generally the cards were manufactured in sets of four.