Christmas Cards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you post any Christmas cards last year? Millions of people did, and millions more delivered cards by hand. In fact over a thousand million are sent annually.

 

The fisrt cards were the idea of Henry Cole, who was the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Every year he sent short notes to his friends at Christmas, wishing them a happy holiday season. But in 1843 he had no time for letter-writing, so he asked an artist, John C. Horsley, to design a card with a printed message that would substitute for his annual greeting. His request eventually inspired a billion-dollar industry and added a tradition to the holiday season.