The Origin and Continuation of the Greeting Card
The Origin and Continuation of the Greeting Card
The perfect words, the right sentiments, the ability to say exactly what we ourselves can’t: just a few ways greeting cards are defined. Greeting cards, the stars of today, started with a humble beginning. The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. By the early 1400s, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year’s greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-1400s. The first holiday greeting cards were probably the “Christmas Pieces” made by students in the early 18th century. Grade-school students would take large sheets of writing paper, printed with engraved borders, and write messages to their parents expressing holiday greetings. A child might write a message such as “Love to Dearest Mummy at the Christmas Season” or “Holiday Wishes to Aunt Agatha and Uncle Fred.” These samplers were designed to show their parents how well their handwriting improved over the past year. The first Christmas card came about at nearly the same time as the first Valentine's Day card. In 1844, W. C. T. Dobson sent out a hand-drawn sketch as a Christmas greeting, instead of his usual Christmas letter. Dobson was the head of the Birmingham School of Design, and many followed his lead developing what is now known as a Christmas Card.
Leaflets expressing good wishes first appeared at the beginning of the fifteenth century and are the ancestors of modern greeting cards. These were followed by eighteenth century print versions which merchants sent their customers on New Year's. “The greeting cards we exchange at Christmas or New Year's and are so much a part of our holiday traditions have their origins in
The perfect words, the right sentiments, the ability to say exactly what we ourselves can’t: just a few ways greeting cards are defined. Greeting cards, the stars of today, started with a humble beginning. The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. By the early 1400s, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year’s greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-1400s. The first holiday greeting cards were probably the “Christmas Pieces” made by students in the early 18th century. Grade-school students would take large sheets of writing paper, printed with engraved borders, and write messages to their parents expressing holiday greetings. A child might write a message such as “Love to Dearest Mummy at the Christmas Season” or “Holiday Wishes to Aunt Agatha and Uncle Fred.” These samplers were designed to show their parents how well their handwriting improved over the past year. The first Christmas card came about at nearly the same time as the first Valentine's Day card. In 1844, W. C. T. Dobson sent out a hand-drawn sketch as a Christmas greeting, instead of his usual Christmas letter. Dobson was the head of the Birmingham School of Design, and many followed his lead developing what is now known as a Christmas Card.
Leaflets expressing good wishes first appeared at the beginning of the fifteenth century and are the ancestors of modern greeting cards. These were followed by eighteenth century print versions which merchants sent their customers on New Year's. “The greeting cards we exchange at Christmas or New Year's and are so much a part of our holiday traditions have their origins in
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