A Few Fun Facts About
Christmas Cards
1843
Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first Christmas
card in London, featuring artwork by John
Callcott Horsley. The hand-colored card was
lithographed on stiff, dark cardboard with
the message: “A Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year to You.”
In 2001 it became world’s most
expensive Christmas card when it was
sold for $35,800 at auction.
The Christmas card designed by Horsley
provoked controversy in England because it
pictured a company of people holding glasses of
wine. Putting alcohol and holy Christmas in one
picture was deemed offensive.
Postmen in Victorian England were called
robins because their uniforms were red.
Many Christmas cards from that time
depicted a robin delivering Christmas mail.
Christmas cards were originally penned
in England by boys who were practicing
their writing skills, they would present these
handmade cards to their parents.
1875
Louis Prang, American printer,
lithographer and publisher, brought
Christmas card production to the US at
his workshop in Boston, Massachusetts.
By 1881 he was printing more than
5 million Christmas cards per year.
The first official White
House Christmas card
was issued in1953 by
President Eisenhower.
In 1962, the first
Christmas postage
stamp was issued in
the United States.
62,824
Werner Erhard of San Francisco
set a world record for sending
62,824 Christmas cards in
December of 1975.
There are more than 3,000
greeting card publishers in
America.
Seasonal Greeting
Card Sales in the USA
•
Christmas 61%
• Valentine’s Day 25%
• Mother’s Day 4%
• Easter 3%
• Father’s Day 2.5%
• Other 4.5%
Preferred Greetings
on Christmas Cards
• Merry Christmas 53%
• Happy Holidays 21%
• Season’s Greetings 12%
• Other 14%
15% of Christmas cards
are purchased by men.
Over 2 billion Christmas cards
are sent in the US each year.
Around 500 million
e-cards are sent each year.
45 Calvary Street • Waltham, MA 02453
Tel: 888.899.INKS • Fax: 781.647.9854
tpisolutionsink.com • [email protected]
Sources:
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/xmas/cards.html; http://EzineArticles.com/841421;http://www.
allthingschristmas.com/cards.html; http://stumbling-on-happiness.blogspot.com/2011/12/86-did-you-know-christmas-cards-
facts.html; http://tada07.wordpress.com/2007/12/07/seven-facts-you-didnt-know-about-christmas-cards/#more-17; http://
amazingfactsworld.com/history-of-christmas-cards; http://www.greetingcard.org/AbouttheIndustry/tabid/58/Default.aspx;
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Interesting+Christmas+Card+Facts-a01074002104
