| Greeting Cards - A History |
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Page 2 of 8 The Penny Post
Due to the reasonably new postal system, which came about on 10th January 1840, such greetings cards were easier to send. The previous system charged 4d within 15 miles, 5d within 20 miles, 6d within 30 miles, 7d within 50 miles, 8d within 80 miles, and 1s within 300 miles. On top of this, the prices were doubled if an envelope was used. The new system charged a standard rate of 1d for a letter to be delivered anywhere in Great Britain.
St Valentine
The festival of St. Valentine is the original survival of the Lupercalia which was introduced into Britain by the Romans. Due to the martydram of a very unfortunate Roman bishop named Valentinus who was clubbed to death on the 14th February, during the festival of Lupercalia. The early Christian Church allocated the 14th February to St. Valentines day. On St. Valentines day it was also, therefore allowed for married women to be kissed by their male friends under the understanding from their husbands. Towards the end of the eighteenth century it was usual to send a keepsake or a lovingly written letter to a lady friend, or wife, towards the beginning of the nineteenth century these verses were being written on the new fashion writing paper.
William Maw Egley
On December 9th 1842 William Maw Egley Junior, who was at the time sixteen years old, designed a Christmas card. This card is considered to be the first Christmas card created for general distribution. This card consisted of four scenes: the upper left showed young people dancing the longways: the upper right showed a family Christmas dinner party: the lower left showed poor people receiving- Christmas gifts from a lady on her doorstep and the lower right showed a skating scene. These scenes are surrounded by an elaborate rustic design. Outside of this design are four more small scenes, these are: upper left, a young women writing a letter, upper right a young man reading what may appear to be the young women's letter, the lower left side shows a Punch and Judy show, and the lower right side shows a group of wandering musicians. The final design of this card is made up of a country yokel on the left side centre, a court jester on the right side centre and finally a harlequin with a ballerina in the direct centre. The message inside this card reads Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you". Until this card by William Maw EgIey had been discovered it was considered that the first greetings card was designed by Sir Henry Cole in 1846, however it was Sir Henry Cole who published the first Christmas card.
Sir Henry Cole
In 1843 Sir Henry Cole, who was involved in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and founded what is now known as the Victoria and Albert Museum, forgot to send his usual letters, and therefore he decided to ask a friend to design a certain Christmas message which could be mechanically reproduced. This friend was John Calcott Horsely RA, whose design was printed off in the front of one thousand cards. Each card was only about the size of a small postcard. The one thousand copies were printed in lithography by Jobbins of Warwick Court, Holborn, London, and were coloured by hand, by a professional colourer named Mason. These cards were published at Felix Summerly's Home Treasury Office, 12 Old Bond Street, London, by another friend of Sir Henry Coles’, Joseph Cundall. The card consisted of three panels, which were separated by a twiggy, leafy effect. The middle panel of the card shows a family party, and the two side panels represent the spirit of Christmas charity. Within one panel, this shows the poor being fed and in the other panel, it shows clothed people. Sir Henry Cole used those that he needed and the rest were given to a friend to sell for a Shilling (5p).
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