19th Century Christmas Card Publishers

by Joanne Haug

Prang Christmas Card, Library of Congress LC-USZC4-1808

Although the first commercial Christmas card was made in Britain in the 1840s, it was not until 20 years later that the greeting card business was established.

In the Victorian era when a person paid a formal call on a friend, it was customary to leave a visiting card as a reminder of the visit. These cards were typically small, about 2 by 3 inches. In 1860, Charles Goodall & Son, a British publisher of visiting cards, began mass producing cards designed especially for visits at Christmas. These Christmas and New Year's visiting cards were the forerunners of greeting cards and were decorated with simple designs such as a twig of holly or flowers.

Today, the most collectible Christmas cards are those printed between 1860 and the 1890s in England and America. During this time period, Christmas cards were printed in lithography, a process which beautifully reproduced the colorful paintings created by the popular artists of the second half of the 19th century. Christmas cards were distributed mainly in booksellers and stationary shops until the early 1880s. At this time, Christmas cards could be found for sale in tobacconists shops, toy shops, and drapery shops.

By 1895, most of the original Christmas card publishing firms went out of business due to the importing of German cards, which were less expensive. The following is a list, with examples, of some of the most popular early publishers of 19th century Christmas cards:

CHARLES GOODALL & SON, LONDON- 1860:

Charles Goodall & Son, a British publisher of visiting cards was one of the first to mass produce Christmas cards and visiting cards. In 1866 Mr. Josiah Goodall commissioned Messrs. Marcus Ward & Co., of Belfast, to lithograph, for his firm, a set of four designs by C. H. Bennett, and in the following year another set by the same artist. These, together with Luke Limner's border design of Holly, Mistletoe, and Robins, may be taken as the fore-runners of the real Christmas card.

C. H. BENNETT (1866-67)

C. H. BENNETT (1866-67)
 

MARCUS WARD & CO., BELFAST, LONDON, NEW YORK- 1866-1895:

This firm monopolized the Christmas card trade for many years. They began with the home manufacturing of cards using German "chromos" mounted on cards with lithographed borders in gold and colors. They soon issued reproductions of original designs by noteworthy artists of the day such as Kate Greenaway, H. Stacy Marks, Walter Crane, and Thomas Crane.

H. STACY MARKS, R.A.

H. STACY MARKS, R.A.
 

DE LA RUE & CO., LONDON- 1875-1885:

De La Rue & Company's work is distinguished by a high degree of mechanical excellence. They are also noted for departing from the typical holiday designs with their introduction of classical figures of nude children. Prominent artists William Coleman, Rebecca Coleman and R. Dudley were employed by this publisher.

R. DUDLEY
 

S. HILDESHEIMER & CO., LONDON, MANCHESTER, NEW YORK- 1876-1890s:

S. Hildesheimer & Company introduced "The Penny Basket" set in 1879. They developed a design competition and exhibition at St. James's Hall, London, in 1881. The firm began reproducing etchings and water-colors by artist Wilfrid Ball, a member of the Society of Paint Etchers in 1881.
 

Hildesheimer & Faulkner:

This company was started by Albert Hildesheimer and C. W. Faulkner; and later became C. W. Faulkner & Co. In 1882 they instituted a Prize Competition in which artist Alice Havers took first prize for her A Dream of Patience card.
 

LOUIS PRANG & CO., BOSTON- 1874:

"The Father of the American Christmas Card." Prang Christmas cards often cost as much as $1 over a hundred years ago.
 

RAPHAEL TUCK & CO./ RAPHAEL TUCK & SONS, LONDON: 1870s, NEW YORK: 1885.

One of the best known and collectible of 19th century Christmas card publishers, they had prize competitions in 1880 and the "Royal Academy" series in 1882.