ter t e l s w e N seum u M l a c i r o Hist December 2014
H i s to ry o f t h e C h r i s t m a s C a r d On May 1, 1843 inventor and English civil servant Sir Henry Cole commissioned what would be the first Christmas card. The image of the three Cole family generations toasting to the card’s recipient and flanked by scenes of charity, was designed and illustrated by John Callcott Horsley. Cole did not necessarily develop the Christmas card because he wanted to share the holiday cheer. In 1840, he had developed the Penny Post. The first two batches of 2,050 Christmas cards printed cost a
shilling (about today) each.
$.12
cents
Christmas of 1873, the lithograph firm of Prang and May e r be ga n c r e ati ng greeting cards for the popular market in England. They began selling the Christmas card across the pond in 1874, thus becoming the first printer to offer cards in America. Louis Prang, is sometimes referred to as the "father of the American Christmas card�. Early English cards focused o n t h e approach of s p r i n g , depicting flowers, fairies and other f a n c i f u l d e s i g n s instead of the winter and religious
themes we associate with cards now. During both World Wars the themes of Christmas cards turned patriotic. Nostalgic, sentimental, and religious images have continued in popularity, and, in the 21st century, reproductions and of Victorian Edwardian cards are easy to obtain. "Official" Christmas cards began with Queen Victoria in the 1840s. The British royal family's cards are generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year. In 1953, U.S. Dwight D. President Eisenhower issued the first official White House card. The cards usually depict White House scenes as rendered by prominent American artists. Throughout the years, the number of recipients of the official White House card has snowballed, from just 2,000 in 1961 to 1.4 million in 2005.
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HISTORICAL MUSEUM NEWSLETTER
Salvat io n Arm y C h rist m as C ard s From the Museum’s Collection
DECEMBER 2014
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