By: John Oberhauser
As the holidays approach, I felt that looking into the history of greeting cards would be fun. I discovered a delightful mix of history, statistics, and fun trivia. Sit back and relax for a moment. Escape the stress of the season, and take a little time to learn some things about the Christmas Card.
- Sending greeting cards can be associated with the ancient Chinese. They absolutely loved to send celebratory good will messages to mark the coming of the new year. The early Egyptians used papyrus scrolls to express their greetings. As early as 1400, the Germans were printing their New Year’s greetings.
- Christmas cards are an English innovation. They were originally penned by boys who were practicing their writing skills. The parents would receive these delightful handmade cards from their sons.
- Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first commercial Christmas cards in London, in 1843. That year, Sir Henry was to busy to write unique letters for everybody. The card contained the words “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You”. John Callcott Horsley created the picture on the card, which was of a family hugging and raising their glasses in a toast. The card’s design was condemned by critics for promoting drunkenness.
- Commercial Christmas Cards, which first appeared in America, are attributed to Louis Prang. A German immigrant, he opened a small lithographic shop outside of Boston in 1856. Most people agree that he began the US greeting card industry. He was producing more than five million cards a year by 1881. Throughout the 1890’s, his cards continued to gain popularity. By this time, Prang was forced to abandon his greeting card production due to the cheap imports, which began storming the market.
- President Eisenhower issued the first official White House Christmas card in 1953. By the year 1961, the White House was sending out 2000 cards. By 2005, that number had risen to over 1.4 million.
- Current holiday cards can be purchased either in box form or individually. Use the boxed cards to satisfy your mailing list for Christmas, and use individual cards for people that are special to you. 9 out of 10 holiday cards are sold in boxes.
- In 2006, cards were exchanged by 2 billion Americans.
- Cards were sent by 85% of Americans in 2006.
- For every 3 holiday cards purchased and sent, one has a religious message.
- 30% of greeting card sales annually, can be attributed to the holiday season.
- Christmas cards are the most popular of all the seasonal cards. They comprise 60% of the total sales. Valentine’s Day, at 25%, is a distant second.
- In the United States there is an estimated 3,000 publishers of greeting cards.
- “Merry Christmas” is the greeting preferred by 53% of Americans 21% of people like “Happy Holidays” and only 12% like “Season’s Greetings”.
- When considering which boxed cards to purchase, 56% of us consider the variety of cards offered while 63% base our decision on price. If you use an online distributor you should be able to satisfy both conditions: variety and price. They can put more kinds of cards on display than the average store can, as they have space management issues.
I hope that this was an enjoyable trip into Christmas Card history. Perhaps it explains our obsession with this particular holiday ritual.
John Oberhauser manages The Image Shop which carries several types of holiday paper for making the family greeting letter look fabulous. They also carry printable designer invitation paper and letterhead stationary for quickly creating a professional custom look for your personal or business stationery needs at less cost.
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