Greeting Cards History
Thousands of greetings cards are sent every single day in the UK. It is estimated that the average person sends 31 cards per year. Christmas and valentines still remain the most popular occasions for sending cards. On average 85 million valentines cards are sent and 670 million Christmas cards. The sending of cards on special occasions is a tradition now ingrained in to our culture but how did it all start?
It is thought that the Chinese and Egyptians were some of the first people to exchange greetings in this way. The Egyptians had their papyrus scrolls to write upon whilst the Chinese exchanged greetings of good will in celebration of the New Year. Wooden greetings were carved by the Germans in the 15th Century but they were expensive and not very portable. Handwritten Valentines messages were being sent during this period too but it wasn’t something that was popular in Britain at that time.
However at the start of the 19th Century the practise of sending a Valentine was popularised and became an acceptable practise.Initially Valentines cards were hand crafted and heavily embellished with things such as lace. This made them expensive and out of many peoples reach. During this time the industrial revolution was roaring and fantastic advances were made in printing. Couple this with the reduction of postal costs and the introduction of the postal ‘stamp’ and you have a recipe for greeting card success.
A craze for sending Christmas cards soon followed thanks to Sir Henry Cole who commissioned a seasonal card that he could send to his friends and family members. Everyone now wanted to send and receive greetings cards (imagine it as being a bit like that must have handbag or that Zumba class that everyone wants to attend) as it was something new and exciting to do. This rise is demand could only really be met by greeting card mass production which started in the 1860’s with companies like Marcus Ward & Co. These companies hired artists to create designs and illustrations for their cards. Children’s story book illustrator Kate Greenaway was one of these artists.
In the early 20th Century a number of new greetings cards companies sprang up. Companies that wanted to move the greeting card industry into the 20th Century. One of these companies was Hallmark. Started by Joyce Hall in 1910, Hallmark started out as a mail order postcard business. Hallmark took the mass production of greetings cards to another level and is now one of the biggest card companies in the world today and it still continues to grow.
Greetings cards have changed a lot over the years. We have such a wonderful selection to choose from these days with shops stocking cards in every colour, design and shape. It is estimated that the UK is 10 years ahead of the rest of the world in terms of greeting cards designs. The industry employs approximately 100,000 people in the UK be that designers, artists or publishers. Card making is now one of the most popular craft hobbies in the UK at the moment.
Check out my post on 2011 greetings cards trends to see what’s hot this year!
