Christmas Cards
I have always enjoyed receiving Christmas cards, and find it sad that they're becoming less popular. Perhaps the constantly rising cost of postage and cards is to blame. Years ago I used to get 30 or 40 cards every Christmas and it was such fun going to the mailbox and hearing news of loved ones. In those days I had numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives and we all exchanged cards. Mine always went off with a personalized handwritten letter. Now one is fortunate to receive a form letter !
The custom of sending Christmas cards began in England in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole, who worked for the Post Office (then known as the Public Record Office) came up with the idea, in an effort to encourage people to use the service. He had an artist friend, John Calcott Horsley, design the first card and sold each for one shilling (12 pence , though of course you could buy a great deal more with it in those days). The card they designed had 3 panels, - two outside panels showing people caring for the poor and the center of a family having Christmas dinner. There were some critical comments from the public as a child had a glass of wine (how little has changed ?!). About 1000 were printed and sold. Those originals are now rare and cost thousands to buy.
You may view the card here, but I can't show the image due to legal restrictions !
https://www.granger.com/results.asp?image=0054688
https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/generalnews/the-first-christmas-card/
The first postal service for ordinary people was started in 1840 with the Penny Post. Before that only the wealthy could afford to use the post. New railways were being built and could carry many more letters than a horse and carriage and trains were so much faster. Cards became even more popular after the Post Office allowed unsealed envelopes for a half penny. (The UK still has a discount for unsealed envelopes).
With improvement in printing methods Christmas cards became popular and were sold in large numbers from about 1860. In 1870 the cost of sending cards dropped to a half penny, even when sealed. By the early 1900s the custom had spread throughout Europe, and was especially popular in Germany.
The first cards usually had pictures of the Nativity on them, but in late Victorian times a British bird, the red breasted robin, and snow scenes were popular since an extremely bad winter had happened in the UK in 1836, with 8 to 9 feet of snow in some areas.
Christmas cards appeared in the US in the late 1840's but were too expensive for most people to buy. In 1875 Louis Prange, a printer, originally from Germany, who had worked on early cards in the UK, started mass producing them, so they were more affordable. His first cards featured flowers, plants and children. Then in 1915 John Hall and two of his brothers started the Hallmark Card Co. which is still one of the largest card makers.
Annie Oakley is known for the first personalized Christmas cards She sent them from Glasgow in 1891 to her friends and family in the US, with a picture of herself on them . She's wearing Scotch tartan in the photo and reportedly designed the cards herself and had them printed by a local printer. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/21915840_44034-annie-oakley-her-christmas-card
In the 1910's and 1920's homemade cards were popular. These often had unusual shapes and were decorated with foil and ribbons. They were delivered by hand as they were too delicate for the mail.
My early memories of shopping for Christmas cards was in a large stationery shop near our house in England. It had steps going up to a higher level and there were literally hundreds of cards on both floors. My mother and I would go in with a long list of friends and relatives and each card was chosen with that person in mind. This was quite a time consuming task especially finding the right message, but I loved doing it. This was years before 'boxed' cards became popular but since they were not expensive it made for a delightful shopping experience, at least to me as a child.
Copyright 20020 Elizabeth Donnell
