A Brief History of Greetings Cards
For most of us, certainly in Europe and in the Western world, our occasions, expressions of feelings, and sentiments to and from others are marked by the sending of an illustrated folded card.
For more important occasions these cards are sent in addition to a present.
Sizes, styles and themes vary greatly.
The inner part of the card can contain verses, wishes and expressions, sometimes items or objects related to the subject of the card, or they can simply be left blank for us to write our own messages.
So how and where and why did this custom and now a 'norm' come from and develop? The Earliest Cards As far as historians are aware, like so many other things we in the UK are familiar with, the earliest versions of greetings cards were developed in ancient China as a way of marking one of the most widely recognised and important festivals / special occasions which was New Year.
Other evidence of greetings cards in ancient cultures can be traced to papyrus scroll versions produced in Egypt.
Greetings Cards in Europe The 1400s in Europe marked the end of the 'middle ages' and the 'dark ages' and it was at this time that what would become 'greetings cards' started to be made.
Early versions were obviously hand-made, and there is evidence of woodcut versions being made in Germany.
The 19th Century and Beyond The early part of the 1800s was a period just before wide-scale mechanisation and the second industrialisation.
This meant that greetings cards were still hand-made items which were beyond the means of many people.
For the 1850s onwards the advancing pace of large scale mechanisation, improvements in the postal service and cheaper postal charges fuelled the growth of affordable greetings cards of all kinds and some large scale producers started to appear.
Further advances in lithography and mass production saw a huge growth in the greetings card market in the early part of the 20th century, and some of the first main moves away from more traditional designs to e.
g.
towards some humorous cards.
The last half of the 20th century saw the wide-scale introduction of large card retailers into the high street and the mass popularisation and recognition of greetings card brands e.
g.
Hallmark.
This period also saw a diverse amount of style and choice in cards e.
g.
musical, photo, and personalised as well as standard cards.
Today: Buying Greetings Cards Online Buying birthday cards and others greetings cards online is now a fast and highly effective way to carry on the ancient tradition of marking the special days in the lives of those we care about, and exchanging important sentiments and messages in a special way.
For more important occasions these cards are sent in addition to a present.
Sizes, styles and themes vary greatly.
The inner part of the card can contain verses, wishes and expressions, sometimes items or objects related to the subject of the card, or they can simply be left blank for us to write our own messages.
So how and where and why did this custom and now a 'norm' come from and develop? The Earliest Cards As far as historians are aware, like so many other things we in the UK are familiar with, the earliest versions of greetings cards were developed in ancient China as a way of marking one of the most widely recognised and important festivals / special occasions which was New Year.
Other evidence of greetings cards in ancient cultures can be traced to papyrus scroll versions produced in Egypt.
Greetings Cards in Europe The 1400s in Europe marked the end of the 'middle ages' and the 'dark ages' and it was at this time that what would become 'greetings cards' started to be made.
Early versions were obviously hand-made, and there is evidence of woodcut versions being made in Germany.
The 19th Century and Beyond The early part of the 1800s was a period just before wide-scale mechanisation and the second industrialisation.
This meant that greetings cards were still hand-made items which were beyond the means of many people.
For the 1850s onwards the advancing pace of large scale mechanisation, improvements in the postal service and cheaper postal charges fuelled the growth of affordable greetings cards of all kinds and some large scale producers started to appear.
Further advances in lithography and mass production saw a huge growth in the greetings card market in the early part of the 20th century, and some of the first main moves away from more traditional designs to e.
g.
towards some humorous cards.
The last half of the 20th century saw the wide-scale introduction of large card retailers into the high street and the mass popularisation and recognition of greetings card brands e.
g.
Hallmark.
This period also saw a diverse amount of style and choice in cards e.
g.
musical, photo, and personalised as well as standard cards.
Today: Buying Greetings Cards Online Buying birthday cards and others greetings cards online is now a fast and highly effective way to carry on the ancient tradition of marking the special days in the lives of those we care about, and exchanging important sentiments and messages in a special way.
