Evening star., 1938-12-11
Christmas Cords Used
Almost Century Ago
By Frederic J. Haskin.

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on previous Christmases, decorative
cards wishing them the Joy and gladness
that the season traditionally betokens.
The mails will be burdened with thou
sands Of tons Of Christmas cards, from
tiny squares, extremely annoying to the
postal authorities, to large and pompous
ones. Uncle Sam will derive a huge
postal revenue in addition to the normal
and the manufacturers and distributors
Of the cards will be richer by several
million dollars
The recipients of the Christmas cards
will be pleased in most cases and there
will be deal Of comparing the relative
tastefulness and probable cost Of the
card which the Browns sent with that
which came from the Robinsons. The
senders will experience a certain glow
of satisfaction and hope that no one
that matters has been forgotten. Some
Of the cards will long be treasured by
those who received them, but most
probably will be In the dustbin by WASH
ington's Birthday II not by Twelfth
Night.
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hundred years ago. Christmas, of
course, has always been celebrated in
some form or another. The approxi-
mate date was celebrated as a pagan
festival centuries before Christ was born
because 1t marks the beginning of the
return of the sun with its life-giving
properties. The earlier celebrations
were far simpler than those of the
present day. 1t was not until the great
rise of material prosperity in the 18th
century that the more secular observ-
ances took on additional trimmings.
The first Christmas tree set up among
the English-speaking people, it is said,
was that erected by Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert in 1840. They, being Ger
mans, imported this German custom and
the vogue spread throughout England
and America. The introduction of this
spirit of secular gayety gave encourage
ment to other ideas and, in l842, COM
mercial designer named w. M Egley pro-
duced what is regarded as the worlds
first Christmas card.
For many years it had been thought
that it was not until 1916 that the first
Christmas card was produced In that
year such card was designed by j. c.
Horsley, an artist of sufficient note to
be member of the Royal Academy.
The commercial distributor was Sir
Henry Cole. But only few years ago,
in the course Of cataloguing of COL
lection of old prints in the British Mu-
scum, Egley's card of 1912 was discov-
cred. Obviously his card did not meet
with commercial success nor, for that
matter, did Horsleys. 1t was some two
decades later before anything like wide
spread use of Christmas cards was made.
The pioneer, the 1842 Egley card, was
3a by 517 inches in dimensions. There
are three panels. Above there is a
dancing scene on one side and a ban
quoting scene on the other. A long
panel below shows skating scene. In
the center appears in ornamental letter.
ing the line which remains conven-
tional to this day: Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year to You" A mar
row blank space at the very bottom is
hanked by the word From" So, in the
course Of 96 years, there has not been
great deal of difference in the funda-
mentals of the Christmas card.
The 1916 card of Horsley and Cole was
simpler. 1t shows long table with
very large family gathered about it,
apparently in the high spirits asso-
ciated with Christmas, and this card,
too, wishes q merry Christmas and
happy New Year.
Even though the English -speaking
people were inclining more to the secu-
lar observance of Christmas in the mid
Victorian era, most were still too poor to
spend anything on cards. However,
wages were improving. Dickens Christ
mas Carol had appeared in 1843 and
his many other descriptions of Christmas
celebrations tended to loosen the spirits
of people of every degree at the hal
lowed season. People began writing
each other Christmas messages and
around 1850 special notepaper was COM
mercially produced, the sheets bearing
ornamental headings suggestive of the
Christmas idea, the rest of the paper
left blank for the message. Some of the
examples extant are quaint in the ex-
treme.
1t was not really until about 1850 that
Christmas cards found anything like a
wide market. A stationer named Johna-
than King undertook to publish such
cards and met with such success that
others In England, America and else
where followed the lure. It is doubtful
II these pioneers could have had any
vision of the enormous volume to which
the business has grown in the time in
tervening.
incidentally, this same Jonathan King
had curious hobby. 1t was that of COL
lecting valentines and, after the Christ
mas card fashion captured the public
fancy, the collecting of the latter. He
must have been indefatigable in his
collecting, as much so as the most en-
thusiastic philatelist of today, for he
collected literally millions. The collec-
ton is contained pasted in no less than
$4,000 volumes of scrapbooks.
Nearly every one knows how impecuni-
GUS artists were in the 18th century, as.
indeed, sney are now. Men who had
already achieved some note and others
who later were to become famous, seized
on every opportunity to pick up q few