Originally posted on Historical Oracle on Quora
Christmas cards have a long and fascinating history.
In the 1840s, many people were sending letters to Sir Henry Cole, the founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. As stacks of unanswered correspondence grew and grew he had no idea what to do. To not answer his mail would be a faux pas of epic proportions in Victorian England, but the volume was overwhelming.
Cole asked an artist friend, J.C. Horsley to design a card with images, a triptych showing a family at table celebrating the holiday surrounded by people helping the poor. He had a thousand copies printer on pieces of stiff cardboard.
Christmas Cards appeared in the United States of America in the late 1840s, but were very expensive and most people couldn't afford them. It 1875, Louis Prang, a printer who was originally from German but who had also worked on early cards in the UK, started mass producing cards so more people could afford to buy them.
Christmas Cards moved to the United States but were too expensive for most people. Then, in 1875, Louis Prang, a printer who came from Germany but who had also worked on early cards in the UK, came up with a way to mass produce inexpensive Christmas cards so more people could afford to buy and share them with loved ones and acquaintances.
Here is a sampling of Christmas cards set to music:
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