Who Invented Christmas Cards
A busy lifestyle led to the invention of christmas cards henry cole a victorian civil servant and reformer who became the v a museum s founding director in 1857 found he was simply.
Who invented christmas cards. He is also credited with the idea of sending greeting cards to people at christmas. Cole s card was hand coloured artistic and expensive. Who invented the christmas card and what year was the first christmas card used. The british royal family s cards are generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year.
Twenty years later the first mass produced commercial christmas cards came on the market. They were brightly coloured and cheap. Official christmas cards began with queen victoria in the 1840s. Shere is the home of the christmas card as in 1843 resident sir henry cole was the man who invented the christmas card sir henry cole 1808 1882 autumn of 1843 an english gentleman named henry cole decided to commission and send printed greeting cards with images that would be marked down in history as the man who invented the christmas.
Cole wanted to develop a holiday card that he could send to his friends. The first recorded use of merry christmas was in a christmas letter sent in 1534. Newly developed printing techniques made this possible. People have been sending christmas greetings to each other for hundreds of years.
In 1843 it cost one shilling. The first christmas card was designed by john horsley an artist that was friends with sir henry cole. There is a long standing custom for the president and first lady to send white house christmas cards each holiday season. The first commercially available christmas card was invented by sir henry cole in 1843.
The history of christmas cards. Between 1948 and 1957 norman rockwell created 32 christmas card designs including christmas surprise 1954 for hallmark. The first known item that looked a bit like a christmas card was given to king james i of england who was also king james vi of scotland in 1611. The practice originated with president calvin coolidge who was the first president to issue a.
Courtesy of the hallmark archives hallmark cards inc kansas city mo. The idea of sending christmas cards really caught on.