🌅 How the Christmas Card Was Born

SOURCE

Victoria and Albert Museum

WHAT TO KNOW

• In 1843, British civil servant Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first Christmas card as a way to save time on his holiday correspondence, asking his friend, artist John Callcott Horsley, to illustrate his idea. Horsley’s design depicted three generations of the Cole family raising a toast and wishing the recipient a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” Cole had a thousand copies printed and offered them for sale at a shilling a piece (equivalent to around $4 today). The price tag was expensive at the time and the card became a commercial flop.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The 1840s were a period of change in Britain, as Prince Albert ushered in various German Christmas traditions, including the decorated Christmas tree. In 1848, artist William Maw Egley debuted the second Christmas card, borrowing heavily from Horsley’s 1843 design. By the 1870s, Christmas cards had become a mainstay in Britain and America, where Louis Prang—known as the “father of the American Christmas card”—had begun selling commercially printed cards to the public. By 1881, Prang was reportedly printing 5 million cards a year. Today, Americans purchase more than 1 billion Christmas cards annually.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Though Cole’s card flopped commercially, it clearly succeeded in spawning what’s become a cherished tradition around the world. It’s also become clear that Cole was simply ahead of his time when it came to the commercialization of Christmas, which now drives 10-15% of annual retail revenue in major economies (retail sales in the U.S. are expected to top $1 trillion in 2025 alone).