Time for Christmas Cards

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD
The first American to print and sell Christmas cards was Louis Prang of Roxbury, Massachusetts, who began publishing cards in 1875. It was a British civil servant who pioneered commercially-produced Christmas cards. In 1843 Henry Cole saw that the postal service could help customers send their Christmas greetings. Making dozens or hundreds of your own personalized cards was very time-consuming. Why not make it easier? So he hired an artist named John Callcott Horsely, engaged a printer, and created the first Christmas cards.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower is given credit for sending the first “official” Christmas card from the White House. An art print also became the standard Christmas gift for the president’s staff, a practice continued to this day.