In 1843, Sir Henry Cole, who was helping to set up the Public Record Office (later the Post Office) in England, needed a way to encourage people to use the Penny Post. He and an artist friend, John Horsley, decided to design and print 1000 Christmas cards and sold them. However, the sending of cards at Christmas did not catch on until the 1860s and later.
Unlike Valentines, no enterprising woman set up a handmade Christmas card business, so early cards were expensive because of the high cost of creating the woodblocks. For most ordinary people, a Christmas letter and food boxes sufficed and were probably more appreciated by soldiers in the field.
It wasn’t until the 1870’s that cards became commonly available, spurring the holiday tradition. Louis Prang is credited with the first mass printing of Christmas cards in America in 1875. Although snow scenes were common, so were flowers, animals, and children. Here is ad from The Bookseller, 1867, p 1137, London, listing six different designs.
Learn more about the tradition of Christmas Cards.
The History of Christmas Cards
Some of the Earliest Christmas Cards Were Morbid and Creepy
