1. A Potted History of
the Greeting Card

2. Pre-1400s
The early Chinese
exchanged
messages of goodwill to
celebrate the New Year
and the early Egyptians
conveyed their greetings
to each other on
papyrus scrolls

3. Early 1400s
Handmade paper greeting
cards were being exchanged
in Europe.
The Germans are known to
have printed New Year's
greetings from woodcuts
as early as 1400.

4. Also…
Handmade paper valentine's cards
also made an appearance in Europe
around this time.

5. Earliest Card Found
Possibly the oldest printed Valentine's
card in the world, this published on
12th January 1797 by John Fairburn
now sits in the British Museum
"Since on this ever Happy day,
All Nature's full of Love and Play
Yet harmless still if my design,
'Tis but to be your Valentine."

6. 1840
The introduction of the
postage stamp together
with advances in printing
transformed the card
and it was now much
cheaper.
It became a popular
and affordable means
of personal communication
by the 1850s

7. 1843
The first known published
Christmas card appeared
in London when Sir Henry
Cole hired artist John
Calcott Horsley to design
a card that he could send
to his friends.

8. 1843
Esther Howland sold her
first handmade valentine.
She became the first
regular publisher of
valentines in the USA

9. Early 1870s
Louis Prang began
publishing deluxe editions
of Christmas cards which
were marketed in England.
In 1875 he introduced the
first complete line of
Christmas cards to the
USA.