Vigo County Historical Society

Christmas card tradition endures for more than 150 years

One holiday tradition that has endured for more than 150 years is the sending of Christmas cards. Though the process of card sending can be time consuming, each card received is a welcome reminder that someone is thinking of us and wants to send greetings at this special season.

The custom of sending Christmas cards began in England in the 1840s. In fact, the very first Christmas card was designed in 1843 by John Calcott Horsley. Though fewer than 1,000 of the card were sold, by the 1860s, the tradition of sending and receiving cards at Christmas was firmly established.

Noted lithographer Louis Prang of Roxbury, Mass., designed the first Christmas card to be published in American in 1875. Many of his and other early cards were embellished with silk fringe and sold for as much as $3 each.

While one might expect these early cards to be religious in nature, Horsley’s 1843 card depicted ladies and gentlemen grouped in an ornate frame raising glasses of wassail. Prang’s early cards pictured spring like roses, daisies, scarlet geraniums and sprays of apple blossoms. Animals and birds were favorite subjects. Queen Victoria, who sent thousands of Christmas cards each year, often chose those depicting cheerful, rosy-cheeked children at play.

Around the turn of the century, penny Christmas postcards were imported from Germany and remained in vogue until World War I. By the end of the war, America’s greeting card industry began to thrive. Today more than 2 billion Christmas cards are exchanged just within the United States.

The greeting cards pictured are from the Vigo County Historical Society’s collection, some of which are displayed on the second floor.

We at the Vigo County Historical Museum would like to send our Christmas card to all readers with this greeting, "May your holidays be happy and the new year filled with peace and joy."