OK, I am stretching the truth a bit. Joseph Cundall was my first cousin five times removed and he didn’t design the first card. But he did print the first commercial Christmas postcard for Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. So, I am almost famous!
Old Joe recognized the potential of greeting cards and went on to produce quite a few cards for sale in later years. Sir Henry Cole is credited with inventing the first Christmas card. The custom of sending holiday letters was well established in England. At the time, it was considered impolite not to answer a letter. Henry Cole had many friends and connections, so his list of replies soon grew very large. Sir Henry was just lazy and hated the idea of spending so much of his time dictating letters. Henry thought of a way to reply to his mountain of correspondence, a postcard that could be printed and used for a short note. Henry Cole had several artist friends, and he presented a rough idea to his friend John Calcott Horsley. Mr. Horsley drew a beautiful picture of a family, presumably the Coles, raising a glass of wine in toast. The card was worded on the picture side “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Sir Henry had 1,000 postcards printed. Only a few survived. (You can find an image on the internet.)
Sir Henry had different cards printed the next year. Joseph Cundall knew a good thing when he saw it and began selling other greeting cards. Louis Prang, a Prussian immigrant to the U.S. is credited for printing the first American Christmas Postcard in 1875. It was not even a winter scene, just a painting of a flower with the words Merry Christmas. By the 1880s the cards in America had become quality art collectables. There were even people reviewing new cards each year as each new crop came along. The Hall Brothers printers began in 1915 producing a 4-inch by 6-inch folded card which was enclosed with an envelope. The brothers later changed the company name to Hallmark. Thus began all the heart-tugging Hallmark movies. Of course, they had to wait for someone else to invent the talking motion picture.
Hallmark marketed the new card to people who needed more writing space than a postcard but who didn’t want to write a full-length letter. From 1948 to 1957 Norman Rockwell designed 32 cards for Hallmark. Christmas cards have evolved into glitter sprinkled masterpieces with pop-up trees complete with Star Wars music and flashing LED lights. And guess what. I am still lazy about writing personal Christmas letters! Some things never change. Consider this my Christmas letter to all of Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Old Joe isn’t around to print it, but I think Niki will. Merry Christmas
(Smithsonianmag.com, usps.com)
By ED PECK – Special to the Herald times
