The History of Christmas Cards

No, Hallmark didn’t start this. It was an English man by the name of Sir Henry Cole in 1843. You see, Sir Henry needed a way to send out Christmas cards to family and friends to help the not so fortunate souls. And writing each one out by hand would be a tedious and timely task. Try saying that 3 times fast!

So, he hired a guy by the name of John Calcott Horsley to pick up the process. John set off to work and began hand painting an image onto a card that depicted the act of celebrating a joyous Christmas with family.

Under the picture read a caption that said, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You”. While the idea wasn’t one that inspired Sir Henry’s friends and family to join in on his crusade, and he didn’t send any more cards out the following year, the idea of sending holiday wishes and greetings did.

Kate Greenaway, a prominent Victorian children’s book writer and illustrator, assisted with the help of Frances Brundage and Ellen Clapsaddle, designed the first popular Christmas cards during the late 1800′s into the early 1900′s.

Still, 30 years or so after this, Americans that wanted Christmas cards to send off, had to import them direclty from England. So England is responsible for the creation and tradition of the Christmas card.

Until in 1875, a German immigrant by the name of Louis Prang, started his very own lithography shop within the United States. At first, Louis didn’t create traditional looking Christmas cards that we’re familiar with today. As more people requested wintery scenes and Christmas tidings, Louis came up with some of the most beautiful designs ever spied with the human eye. By the time it was 1881, Louis was creating better than 5 million Christmas cards every year!

Can you say millionaire?

Today, we can find all sorts of different Christmas cards sporting every Christmas greeting imaginable in shops all across the U.S.

Are you looking for Christmas Ebooks? Here’s a Christmas Ebook Package you might want to check out.