Peering into a display case, children try to decide which Christmas card to get for their teacher at the turn of the century.
Christmas cards date back to 1843 when Englishman Henry Cole, too busy to write a personal holiday greeting, had the bright idea of having an artist design a card that could be sent to all his acquaintances. Cole took the 5" x 3" card and had 1,000 copies made by a London printer on stiff cardboard, changing the holidays, and mail delivery, forever.
Louis Prang, a German-born Boston lithographer, brought the idea of holiday cards to America in 1875. His card showed Killarney roses and said, "Merry Christmas." During a 1955 exhibition of the earliest holiday cards, The Times wrote, "Early American cards seldom were signed and do not have envelopes, since they were delivered by hand with a calling card." That practice has certainly changed. Today, more than 2 billion Christmas cards are sent in America each year, along with about 500 million e-cards.
