2006-12-22 11:24:52 · 2 answers · asked by deuce4622003 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
The sending of greeting cards at Christmas began in the Victorian era. Though wood engravers produced prints with religious themes in the European Middle Ages, the first commercial Christmas and New Year's card is believed to have been designed and printed in London, England in 1843.
John Callcott Horsley (born 1817-- died 1903), a British narrative painter and a Royal Academician, designed the very first Christmas and New Year's card at the suggestion and request of his friend Sir Henry Cole (the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum). In 1843 an edition of 1,000 of these Christmas cards was placed on sale in London. They were printed in lithography by Jobbins of Warwick Court, Holborn, London, and hand-colored by a professional "colourer" named Mason. The Christmas card was lithographed on stiff cardboard, 5 1/8 by 3 1/4 inches, in dark sepia, and shows a family party in progress, beneath which is the greeting, "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You." It also states that is was "Published at Summerly's Home Treasury Office, 12 Old Bond Street, London." The price was 1s. each. An original copy of this card is considered very rare, but copies of a facsimile reprint issued in 1955 can still be found today.
2006-12-22 12:08:01 · answer #1 · answered by Porcelain Doll 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first Christmas cards were printed in the early 1800's- someone of rank sent them out.
2006-12-22 11:42:24 · answer #2 · answered by Flea© 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋