Christmas cards are over 100 years old and started in England. A Man named Richard Armour commented to his friend Sir Henry Cole that although he tries to send greetingsto everyone there are so many people to make contact with that it can be hard to talk to everyone, but he felt it was important to tell others to help those in need. Sir Henry Cole agreed and had another man named John Calcott Horsley paint a scene of a happy family and the needs of the poor being met. The cards all said "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You", the first Christmas card was complete. Henry Cole then sent these cards out, and although it is said that he did not send any cards the following year this idea caught on and became popular.
American's had to import their Christmas cards, which were now becoming more and more designed with Christmas shapes and pop-up figures until 1875. A German immigrant by the name of Louis Prang opened a lithographic shop and published the first Christmas cards in America. Although his first cards didn't feature a lot of traditional Christmas images, by 1881 he was producing over 5 million Christmas cards a year and they began to be a lot more "Christmasy".
Even 150 years ago people felt rushed and like they didn't have time to get everything done and tell everyone one things they want to say and so they developed a card to help get this done. Today, a time that has become even busier these cards still help us to stay in contact with friends and family all over the country.
Info from:
http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/xmas.html
Picture from:
http://www.zazzle.com/christmas_card_merry_christmas-137780764831090480
No comments:
Post a Comment