Christmas cards

History of Holiday cards

© Mary Welling-Bonney

Nov 12, 2006
stnick, denise van patten
Even in Days gone by people led very busy lives and were looking for ways to save time and energy. Just as now, many inventions are created to be time savers.

In 1843 John Horsley was commissioned to create a Christmas card for Sir Henry Cole (the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum) because he did not have the time to write all of his friends as he had done in previous years.

The cards were created on lithographs and hand-colored. The first card was supposed to have depicted poor people being fed and clothed but instead Horsley created a family party in progress showing a child sipping wine. The original intent was to remind Sir Henry’s friends of the great needs for the persons in poverty during this season. Instead it caused an uproar for “fostering the moral corruption of children”.

It is said that Sir Henry did not send out any cards following that year but Christmas cards were already on their way. The first year 1000 cards went on sale in London for one shilling each.

It didn’t take long for Christmas cards to evolve from religious in nature to patriotic themes. Cards have been made with luxurious ribbons, silks, satins, and fringe to shapes, pop ups, metal, puzzles, and even ones that make noise. Christmas cards have been used to pay tribute to gardens and cultures, the old and the new.

As we make our cards, it really is amazing to think of the first cards and their significance to our history. And to think it was all just to save a little time.

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"Copyright 2006, Mary Welling-Bonney & Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright."


The copyright of the article Christmas cards in Scrapbooking & Paper Crafts is owned by Mary Welling-Bonney. Permission to republish Christmas cards in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.




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