Commercially Produced Christmas Cards

First commercially produced Christmas card - 1843

Christmas cards may be newer than you would have guessed. Although there's mention of large amounts of Christmas cards sent out by wealthy families in colonial times, these cards were handmade by staff or family members. Research shows that the first commercially produced Christmas cards came from London in 1843. They were commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and illustrated by John Callcott Horseley. 2,050 cards were made in two printings and sold for a shilling each. Cole had helped introduce the penny post in 1840, and he hoped the Christmas cards would encourage its use.

1950's Christmas card

Store-bought Christmas cards began selling in America in 1874. By 1880, one card manufacturer was producing over five million cards a year. Through most of the 1900s, production and sales continued to climb. However, toward the end of the century and into the 21st, the popularity of cards started to decline. Even with this decline, about 1.9 billion Christmas cards were sent in 2005.

WW II Christmas card

Today, however, most people have quit sending Christmas cards.  Yet, there are those who collect Christmas cards, and some of their collections are huge and worth a lot of money, especially if they include some of the older or rare cards. Queen Mary was a collector, and her collection is housed in the British Museum. Valuable cards can still be found packed away in attics or storage areas. And there's still something special about receiving a Christmas card.

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