Henry Cole was a prominent educator and patron of the arts who was popular in the elite social circles of early Victorian England. It was a time when the British postal system was being expanded. There was the introduction of the ‘Penny Post’, which allowed persons to send a letter or card anywhere in the country with the purchase of a penny stamp.
Subsequently, it became fashionable to send Christmas and New Year’s greetings by way of letters. During the Christmas season of 1843, Cole, founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, was swamped with such letters, causing him much anxiety. He didn’t have much time to respond to all the letters, and it was regarded impolite at that time not to reply to letters.
After much contemplation, Cole came up with the idea of sending greetings by way of a card. He approached his artist friend, J.C.
Horsley, and pitched an idea that Horsely sketched. Cole then took Horsley’s illustration of a family at a table celebrating the holiday flanked by images of people helping the poor. A thousand copies were made by a London printer.
The image was printed on a piece of stiff cardboard, 5 1/8 x 3 1/4 inches in size. At the top of each was the salutation, “To:______”, allowing Cole to personalise his responses, which included the generic greeting, “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You.” It was the first Christmas card, and as they say, the rest is history.
Christmas cards eventually became as popular as ‘Baby Jes.
