The History of
Christmas Cards
.
The custom of sending Christmas cards was started in the UK in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole.
He was a civil servant (Government worker) who had
helped set-up the new “Public Record Office” (now called the Post Office),
where he was an Assistant Keeper, and wondered how it could be used more by
ordinary people.
Sir Henry had the idea of Christmas Cards with his
friend John Horsley, who was an artist. They designed the first card and sold
them for 1 shilling each. (That is only 5p or 8 cents today(!), but in those
days it was worth much much more.)
The card had three panels. The outer two panels
showed people caring for the poor and in the center panel was a family having a
large Christmas dinner!
Some people didn't like the card because it showed a
child being given a glass of wine! About 1000 (or it might have been less!)
were printed and sold. They are now very rare and cost thousands of Pounds or
Dollars to buy now!
The first postal service that ordinary people could
use was started in 1840 when the first “Penny Post” public postal deliveries
began (Sir Henry Cole helped to introduce the Penny Post).
Before that, only very rich people could afford to
send anything in the post. The new Post Office was able to offer a Penny stamp
because new railways were being built. These could carry much more post than
the horse and carriage that had been used before. Also, trains could go a lot
faster.
Cards became even more popular in the UK when they
could be posted in an unsealed envelope for one halfpenny - half the price of
an ordinary letter.
As printing methods improved, Christmas cards became
much more popular and were produced in large numbers from about 1860.
In 1870 the cost of sending a post card, and also
Christmas cards, dropped to half a penny. This meant even more people were able
to send cards.
An engraved card by the artist William Egley, who
illustrated some of Charles Dickens's books, is on display in the British
Museum.
By the early 1900s, the custom had spread over
Europe and
had become especially
popular in Germany.
The first cards
usually had pictures of the Nativity scene on them. In late Victorian times,
robins (an English bird) and snow-scenes became popular.
In those times the postmen were nicknamed “Robin
Postmen” because of the red uniforms they wore. Snow-scenes were popular
because they reminded people of the very bad winter that happened in the UK in
1836.
Christmas Cards appeared in the United States of
America in the late 1840s, but were very expensive and most people could not
afford them.
It 1875, Louis Prang, a printer who was originally
from Germany but who had also worked on early cards in the UK, started mass
producing cards so more people could afford to buy them.
Mr. Prang's first cards featured flowers, plants,
and children. In 1915, John C. Hall and two of his brothers created Hallmark
Cards, who are still one of the biggest card makers today!
In the 1910’s and 1920’s, home-made cards became
popular. They were often unusual shapes and had things such as foil and ribbon
on them. These were usually too delicate to send through the post and were
given by hand.
Nowadays, cards have all sorts of pictures on them:
jokes, winter pictures, Santa Claus or romantic scenes of life in
past times.
Charities often sell their own Christmas Cards as a
way raising money at Christmas.
Charities also make money from seals or stickers
used to seal the card envelopes. This custom started in Denmark in
the early 1900’s by a postal worker who thought it would be a good way for
charities to raise money, as well as making the cards more decorative.
It was a great success: over four million were sold
in the first year! Soon Sweden and Norway adopted the
custom and then it spread all over Europe and to America.
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/cards.shtml
p-chron p-files
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