Before there were printed greeting cards, people sent handwritten messages to each other. In 1843, Henry Cole, a British civil servant and entrepreneur, commissioned John C. Horsley to design the above Christmas card. Sir Henry Cole (as he later became known) was looking for a way ordinary people could use the services of the newly […]
“the Ghost of an idea…”
Charles Dickens began writing A Christmas Carol in October 1843. At that time, he was suffering from “a hideous cold,” and was in the midst of a financial crisis. After five years of economic success, Dickens had overextended his finances, his newer books were not selling as had been anticipated, and he was forced […]
The History of the 1st Christmas Card
Before printed cards, people sent handwritten messages to each other. Then in 1843, Henry Cole, a civil servant and entrepreneur, commissioned John C. Horsley to design the above Christmas card. Sir Henry Cole (as he later became known) was looking for a way ordinary people could use the services of the newly established post […]
A Christmas Carol
December 22, 2014 On a recent trip to downtown New Haven, I discovered a marvelous Christmas display of paper cutouts in a variety of shop windows. The best arrangement is in Claire’s Corner Copia, a vegetarian restaurant on the corner of Chapel and College Streets. There I spotted this scene from Dicken’s Christmas Carol. […]
1843
December 17, 2011 “The first Christmas card was privately printed in London in 1843. As the exchange of Christmas cards grew in popularity, commercial production became widespread in Europe and America, providing customers with thousands of images from which to choose.” -The Metropolitan Museum of Art Also in 1843, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol which was first […]