What Was The First Christmas Card

The first commercially made Christmas card was from 1843.

How did the tradition of sending Christmas cards to start? This one is the oldest thing we know about sending a card during Christmas time.

The card, intended to double as a greeting for Christmas and New Year’s Day. It was designed by the painter and illustrator John Callcott Horsley.

Christmas cards date from the Victorian era, like many other Christmas traditions.

Queen Victoria sent the first official Christmas card, and Sir Henry Cole, who amongst other things was an assistant to Sir Rowland Hill, commissioned the first commercial Christmas card in 1843.

The back of the card.

The initial print run was for 1000 cards.

John Callcott Horsley, a British narrative painter, designed the first Christmas card as a commission in 1843.

He also designed a pre-paid envelope that was the precursor to the postage stamp and he painted interior frescoes for the Palace of Westminster.

The cards by painter John Callcott Horsley were printed lithographically and then…