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 Our
mailboxes fill these days with cheery greetings. Christmas cards
fill our hands as we sit down with anticipation at the table to
review what has transpired in the lives of family and friend this
past year.
When did it become popular in the United States to send Christmas
cards to friends? Who was behind the beginning of this tradition?
Although the exchanging of Christmas greetings in the US had an
early beginning, about 1822, the cards were handmade and bulky to
send via the post office. It was not until the 1860s that sending
cards to friends and relatives became common.
Mass produced cards were basically unheard of until 1843. It is
believed the first mass produced Christmas card originated in
England. Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman, had so
many greetings to write he commissioned John Calcott Horsley to
illustrate and produce 1,000 cards for him. Twelve of these are
still in existence in private collections.
Sending commercial cards became so popular that even United States
citizens ordered cards form Europe to send to their family and
friends. It would be 30 years before Christmas Cards would be
commercially printed in the United States.
In 1850 Louis Prang emigrated from Germany, eventually settling in
Boston. He established a lithographic company turning out maps,
plus reproductions of popular oil paintings in what is known as
Victorian art. In 1862, he began to turn out Christmas greeting
cards but not on the grand scale, he was destined to produce. By
the mid 1870, his cards became a norm in homes of the rich and the
poor. By the mid 1880s, he was producing more than 5 million cards
a year for all holidays. He conducted contests that became so very
popular they encouraged many great artists to participate.
http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/history.html
Several famous artists have graced the covers of Christmas cards
through the years, Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, and Currier and
Ives are just a few.
Today , it is common again to make one’s own cards. With the
advent of the computer and also the many craft supplies, cards
have taken on a more personal dimension. How many of Magi Adams’
friend’s have cherished the cards they have received from her and
her late husband, Bill. Many, I am sure.
The museum has a treasure trove of cards from all the holidays.
Christmas greetings are in the archives in many designs from WWII
military v-cards to Christmas photo cards. They tell a story of
how times have come and gone in the lives of those who sent them.
Stop in, visit the museum, and look through the Christmas cards
from the past and not so far past.
RCHS Footnotes
The Roseau County Historical Society 75th Anniversary Cookbooks
are now available in Roseau at the museum, Wally’s, Mattson’s
Pharmacy, Wahlberg’s Jewelry, Mike’s Snyder Drug, or RCHS board
members.
Military Service History Forms can be picked up
at any county VFW, American Legion or at the museum.
We encourage all enlisted or veterans to participate in this
program.
To request a form contact the museum at:
Roseau County Historical Society
110 2nd Ave. NE
Roseau MN 56751
Phone 218-463-1918
Listen to A Look Back in Time Sunday at 8:30 am on KJ102
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