• Home
  • ABOUT
  • Pick Your Fix
    • Advertising
    • Architecture
    • Civics & Rights
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Holidays
    • Home Life
    • Interior Design
    • Science & Tech
    • Transportation
  • The Library
    • Books on My Shelf
    • BLOGS I FOLLOW
  • Adventures in the Field
    • In Search of Stuff
    • In & Around New England
    • In & Around Michigan
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • RSS

My History Fix

the Fun Side of History!

CHRISTMAS CARDS: HOLIDAY ART

December 12, 2014

Prang Christmas Card, kids calling Santa

Photo: Being Santa Claus

In the thick of the Holiday season, running down my to-do list I see:

  • Make Christmas cookies for work
  • Wash dishes
  • Vacuum
  • Prepare for Michigan trip
  • Send Christmas Cards
  • Gift Shopping
  • Write blog posts…

Hmm…Christmas cards. It’s pretty clear they were started as a commercial venture, but what’s the story behind them?

WHY DO WE SEND CHRISTMAS CARDS?

The nineteenth century custom that correlates to sending cards was the exchange of Christmas letters— and not the form letter of recent years, but personal hand-written letters to all those on your list. Sounds like a lot of work, right?

Sir Henry “Old King” Cole thought so. He commissioned the first Christmas card in London in 1843. A fascinating, diverse man, Cole was the founder and first director of what would become the Victoria and Albert Museum. He hired artist John Colcott Horsley to create a card he could send to his friends. Signing a beautiful card was easier and novel for the time; but it caught on slowly in England.

First Christmas Card

Sir Henry Cole’s Christmas Card, 1843 Photo: Wikipedia

The creative personal choice of one man soon grew into a new tradition and eventually, a gigantic industry!

FATHER CHRISTMAS CARD

Prangs Christmas Cards

Photo: Streets of Salem

Louis Prang portrait

Photo: Wikiepedia

The first American-made Christmas card is said to have been made by R.H. Pease of Albany, NY in the early 1850’s, but German immigrant Louis Prang is considered the Father of the Christmas Card.Prang was born in 1824 in Breslau, Prussian Silesia, which is actually now part of Poland. At the tender age of 13 he apprenticed with his father, a textile manufacturer. He learned the art of engraving, and how to dye and print calico fabric.

Involvement in revolutionary activity against the Prussian government initiated his journey to the United States, via Switzerland. Prang settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1850.

In Boston, Prang put his engraving skills to work at Gleason’s Magazine as an illustrator. In 1856 he struck out on his own, partnering with Julius Mayer to form the printing company Prang and Mayer, producing business cards, advertisements and the like.

Prang album cards

Photo: New-York Historical Museum & Library

They also printed a popular collectible of the time, album cards. Album cards were series of small scenes that were collected and displayed in special hard-covered albums or envelopes. This artistic offering must have struck a chord with Prang.

Beethoven portrait in stages

Photo: Peabody Essex Museum

After a training trip to Europe in 1864 he replaced the hand-coloring of black and white lithographs with a new process called chromolithography, which used multiple plates to create multi-colored prints.

This process was more automated, but under Prang’s supervision was no less labor intensive.

Some of his designs were so intricate that up to twenty plates were needed to achieve the rich look he required.

He took pride in his “chromos”–his shop produced a quality unmatched by others, and he considered them works of art.

THE AMERICAN CHRISTMAS CARD

Christmas cards had been around for a couple of decades, but it took the touch of Louis Prang to make them wildly popular!

Coming off a successful turn at the World’s Fair of 1873 where he was distributing trade cards, he took the suggestion of the wife of his London agent to add a Christmas greeting to

Prang rose christmas card

Photo: New-York Historical Museum & Library

his designs.

Prang published his first Christmas cards in 1875—they were immediately popular! It took just six years for his annual sales to hit five million units—huge numbers for back in the day!

Prang christmas card

Photo: And This is Good Old Boston

Early designs were different from what we are used to seeing today; they featured flowers, birds, fairies and signs of the coming Spring rather than winter or religious scenes.

THE MAN BEHIND THE BUSINESS

Prang wasn’t the usual industrialist of the time. He wanted to inspire and educate the public in the area of decorative art. He felt he was selling affordable works of art, but wanted to encourage the public to create their own art as well.

Prang's Natural History Series Children cover

Photo: Letterology

Prang contest winner

Prang’s 1881 Christmas Card contest winner by Elihu Vedder. Photo: New-York Historical Museum & Library

Starting in 1880 he sponsored Christmas card design contests, with four top prizes ranging from $200 to $1,000—again, big money back in the day!

The contests were of a level that they attracted art and design luminaries to act as judges: architect Stanford White, painter John LaFarge and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany!

MODERN PROBLEMS

Prang’s success in the Christmas card market inspired a flood of cheap imitations. Rather than compromise his standards to compete, in the early 1890’s Prang bowed out of the industry he created.

Now we complain about how much time it takes to do Christmas cards—many forego them altogether—yet they were intended to be a time saver!

Of course many people now create their own holiday greetings through internet sites…maybe not quite the level of creativity Louis Prang hoped to inspire, but I think he would appreciate the modern public’s desire to create their own attractive, personal cards!

Are you sending out holiday cards this year? Do you go traditional or internet creation? Share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to stop over at Facebook for other tidbits over the next couple weeks!

Prang Christmas Card, kids in snow

Photo: Glass4Drops

Prang was honored by the US Postal Service with a stamp in 1975.

Prang was honored by the US Postal Service with a stamp in 1975.

Merry Christmas!

SOURCES:

Kavanagh, Marybeth, “Louis Prang, Father of the American Christmas Card,” New-York Historical Museum & Library, December 19, 2012, http://blog.nyhistory.org/prang/

Rested, Penne, “Christmas in 19th Century America,” History Today, Volume: 45, Issue: 12, 1995, http://www.historytoday.com/penne-restad/christmas-19th-century-america

Ristow, Walter W.   Worlds of Christmas Greetings. The Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress, Vol. 35, No. 4 (October 1978): 234-241.

Filed Under: Holidays 2 Comments

<- BLACK FRIDAY
VINTAGE TOYS: THOSE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST ->

Comments

  1. Linda says

    December 12, 2014 at 4:19 pm

    Interesting as always! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Linda says

    December 24, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    People are sending Christmas cards less and less every year! Kind of sad.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Never Miss a Fix!

ABOUT

Vintage Popular Mechanics covers

VINTAGE EPHEMERA AT THE SOWA VINTAGE MARKET

  One of my favorite check-ins for vintage goodies is the SoWa Vintage Market in the South End neighborhood of Boston. Located in an old warehouse on Harrison Street in the South of … [Read More...]

ROCKPORT, MA: SUMMER SUNDAY ROAD TRIP

Sunday afternoon my friend Holly texted me to see if I wanted to go to Rockport (Massachusetts) with her; she was going to take a look at a property listing she found online. Why not? Rockport is one … [Read More...]

OUTLANDER SERIES: TIME TRAVEL VIA DIANA GABALDON

It’s ironic. The closing of my favorite bookstore (Borders) introduced me to my favorite writer, Diana Gabaldon (or Herself, as she is known to her fans). It happened during the early stages of … [Read More...]

Madam C.J. Walker, Ida Tarbull, Maria Mitchell

WOMEN WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE

In honor of March being Women’s History Month, I want to share the stories of three fascinating female ground-breakers… MADAM C.J. WALKER (1867-1919) ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAIL BLAZER Being a self-made … [Read More...]

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME…Zzzzzz…

Are you like me? Every time we “spring forward” or “fall back” I have trouble adjusting! Even when I get an extra hour of sleep, I end up asking “why do we do this to ourselves?!” After recently … [Read More...]

FOLLOW MY HISTORY FIX ON INSTAGRAM!

The forced opportunity to drive slowly on the way The forced opportunity to drive slowly on the way home from work yesterday brought out the gratitude I feel for living in this beautiful city. The last few years have been challenging, but moments like this are priceless. Beacon Street to the Riverway is always scenic, but the snowfall was breathtaking! This was the only chance I had for a safe snap, and I just had to document the moment. #mansardmonday #victorian #architecture #snow #urban #boston #backbay #grateful
Walking that tight rope forward! Wishing health, p Walking that tight rope forward! Wishing health, prosperity and peace to all in 2021! ✨ #vintage #newyearbaby #happynewyear #greetingcards
Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄 This is a small por Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄 This is a small portion of my vintage Christmas collection. The tall gold angel is my childhood tree topper❤️ #vintage #vintagechristmas #christmas #elves #angels
Happy Thanksgiving! This sweet little pin was made Happy Thanksgiving! This sweet little pin was made by Hallmark c. 1976. I was happy to find it, as I had one as a child! It’s nestled in a bracelet made of dimes. Both can be found—along with many other treasures— @thoreaulyantiques in Concord, MA. #vintage #thanksgiving #jewelry
Boston’s South End, from a walk a few weeks back Boston’s South End, from a walk a few weeks back. #boston #architecture #masonry #cityphotography #southendboston
This sweet vase is one of my favorite finds— @th This sweet vase is one of my favorite finds— @thoreaulyantiques ❤️ #vintage #antique #vases #artdeco
My cat and her namesake.❤️❤️❤️ #cat #c My cat and her namesake.❤️❤️❤️ #cat #catsofinstagram #rosemaryclooney #bookstagram @mimi.clooney.trixie
HOW COOL IS THIS AD? ❤️❤️❤️ c. 1903 Li HOW COOL IS THIS AD? ❤️❤️❤️ c. 1903 Life Magazine.
#automotive #advertising #vintage #vintagecars #vintageadvertising #antique
Looking for some stability. Found this great ancho Looking for some stability. Found this great anchor knocker in Beacon Hill the other day. ❤️ #beaconhill #boston #anchor #architecture #frontdoor #decor
#blackouttuesday #blackouttuesday
Driving down an empty downtown Boston street today Driving down an empty downtown Boston street today, I took the opportunity to slam on the brakes, pull over and snap this gem in all its Deco glory!❤️ #artdeco #architecture #details #boston #design
Looking around at things with fresh eyes. I hope a Looking around at things with fresh eyes. I hope all is well with you! #books #bookstagram #antiques #artdeco #bookends #penguins #vintage #green #collection
Whenever I visit #newportri I have to see the #new Whenever I visit #newportri I have to see the #newporttower — what an amazing structure! #architecture #ancient #masonry #archeoastronomy #vibes ❤️
Happy 2020 to all!!! I am very much looking forwar Happy 2020 to all!!! I am very much looking forward to a new decade full of creativity, fulfillment and good health. This mosaic I made reminds me of being in Flow (as I was when making it) and I expect to feel more of that in the coming year and beyond. Best wishes and Happy New Year! 🎆 #2020 #happynewyear #freshstart #flow #mosaic #create #getitdone
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 Cuisine Theme by Viva la Violette