Who started this?

Just wondering who in their right minds came up with the idea that I should make so many many Christmas Cards each year - now I know who to blame!!!

Where did the Tradition of Holiday Greeting Cards start?

Every year during the holiday season, we send out and receive greeting cards to friends, business partners and family members. But have you ever asked yourself where this tradition originated? We did and with a little bit of research, found a most interesting story behind this custom: 

  

A British investor and civil servant by the name of Sir Henry Cole came up with the idea and produced the first commercial holiday card in 1843. He commissioned an artist, John Horsley, to create a drawing of Sir Henry and his family raising their glasses in a toast on a tree-paneled image.

Being the business man he was, he not only used the cards to send to his acquaintances, but sold over 2,000 cards for a shilling a piece.

  

Soon others picked-up on Sir Henry’s idea and started producing more and more cards. It was not until 1875 though, when the first holiday cards were offered in America. Once the tradition was started and the business took off, it quickly evolved from flower and fairy images to winter and religious pictures and to more patriotic themes during the two world wars. In the 1950s cartoons and humorous cards became popular and today you can choose cards from a wide range of themes, forms and materials.