December’s Treasure of the Month features a selection of vintage Christmas cards from the Rosenberg Library Museum’s greeting card collection. All cards on display were sent or received by Galvestonians from the 1870s to the 1940s. The cards were donated by Philip C. Tucker, Z. L. White, Mrs. S. E. Morgan, and Herbert L. Ganter.
The World’s First Christmas Card
Handmade Christmas cards have been exchanged among friends and families since the 1600s. However, the first commercial Christmas card was not created until 1843 in London. The British postal system had recently been expanded with the creation of the Penny Post, allowing letters to be delivered for only one penny and resulting in an increase of letter-writing. Sir Henry Cole, the founder of the Victoria & Albert Museum, commissioned artist John Callcott Horsley to design a card that could be mass-produced, as he was too busy to respond to the many letters he received during the holiday season. The card depicted scenes of almsgiving to the poor with an image of a family raising a toast at their dining table. The greeting “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to You” was printed in the center.
Surprisingly, early Christmas cards like Cole’s rarely showed seasonal or religious themes as they do today. Instead, historic designs often featured floral motifs or images of animals and children at play. Over time, cards began to include traditional characters such as Santa Claus, elves, and snowmen, or familiar objects like Christmas trees. Nativity scenes, white doves, and the Star of Bethlehem became more common during later years.
Christmas Cards in America
In 1874, the concept of ready-made Christmas cards was introduced to the American public by Louis Prang, a Boston-based printer and lithographer. Using the color printing process which he invented, Prang’s company produced the first commercially printed holiday greeting cards made in America. By the early 1880s, Prang reportedly printed five million Christmas cards annually. During this time, Prang also sponsored art competitions offering cash prizes for top card designs.
Eventually, less expensive cards imported from Germany flooded the market, causing Prang to focus on other publishing ventures. Elaborate Victorian-era cards were swapped for cheaper postcards, though fancier cards with envelopes returned to popularity in the 1920s.
The production of Christmas cards continued to be a profitable venture throughout the 20th century. Designs evolved with changing tastes and advancing print technology. During the First and Second World Wars, patriotic themes were featured on Christmas cards.
Christmas Greetings in the Modern World
The popularity of Christmas cards has waned in recent decades with the rise of emails, texting, and social media, which allow for more frequent, convenient contact than hand-written cards. Many families also prefer to send out a lengthier Christmas letter to relatives and friends that includes personal photos and information about their activities during the past year.
Even with this shift, there are still over one billion Christmas cards sent in the United States alone each year. In fact, some recent surveys indicate that millennials and Gen Z prefer physical Christmas cards to their digital counterparts. Many businesses and corporations also continue to send Christmas cards to customers each year to garner goodwill and foster brand recognition.
