| The Christmas card, as we know it, originated in | | | | one. Each of the two side panels depicted a good |
| England in the year 1843. An artist named John | | | | deed. The first showed an image of people |
| Calcott Horsley was commissioned by Sir Henry | | | | clothing the poor, and the other side panel |
| Cole, a wealthy and successful London | | | | showed an image of people feeding the hungry. |
| businessman, to create a card that could be sent | | | | The center piece had an image of a well-to-do |
| out to his friends and clients to wish them a | | | | family making a toast and surrounded by an |
| merry Christmas. | | | | enormous feast. |
| Sir Henry Cole was very well known at the time, | | | | The inscription on the inside of the card read "A |
| for a number of reasons. He had a helping hand in | | | | Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you." |
| helping to modernize the British postal system. He | | | | Of the one thousand cards printed for Sir Henry |
| played a prominent role in the creation of the | | | | Cole, only twelve exist today in private collections. |
| Royal Albert Hall, and acted as the construction | | | | The printed card became highly fashionable in |
| manager on this massive project. He also | | | | England during the years that followed. They also |
| arranged for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and he | | | | became very popular in Germany. It took quite a |
| oversaw the inauguration of the Victoria and | | | | long time for the idea to catch on in America, |
| Albert Museum. | | | | then popularized by a German expatriate named |
| One of Sir Henry Cole's greatest aspirations in life | | | | Louis Prang in 1875. Today, more than 2 billion |
| was to beautify the world around him. He owned | | | | Christmas cards are exchanged each year. Merry |
| and operated a wonderful art shop on Bond | | | | Christmas, all! |
| Street, which specialized in decorative objects for | | | | Catherine Spelling absolutely loves spending |
| the home. His shop was hugely popular with the | | | | Christmas with family and friends. When she is |
| British upper class, and he earned a tidy sum | | | | not counting down the days until Christmas, she |
| from his business. | | | | writes for - an online resource for all things |
| The Christmas card he commissioned was | | | | relating to Christmas and decorations, with |
| fashioned in the form of a triptych, which is a | | | | information about decorations for Christmas, pre |
| three-paneled design that allows for the two | | | | lit Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths and more. |
| outer panels to be folded in towards the middle | | | | |