The exchange of greeting cards is an age-old tradition. The history of greeting cards dates back to the ancient Chinese and early Egyptians. The Chinese exchanged goodwill messages to celebrate the New Year while Egyptians used papyrus scrolls to send greetings. However, this gained popularity in the mid-1800s when people started exchanging greeting cards with friends, lovers and family. Initially, greeting cards were hand-written or painted, slowly the print media took over the charge. Greeting cards were trendy for a very long time until the smartphones popularized itself in the market. E- greetings and e-card took over the printed greeting cards. Now in the age of digitalization, it is very difficult to tell if there is a future for a greetings card or not.
Before answering the pertinent question, here is a shortlist of the journey of greeting card:
400’s: Europeans began selling and exchanging handmade greeting cards.
1775: Members of the Second Continental Congress appointed a Postmaster General for the United Colonies and the U.S. Post Office Department was formed on July 26.
1800’s: Valentine’s cards became popular and affordable; the Penny Post debuts.
1840: Postage stamp was introduced.
1843: First known Christmas card was published in London when Sir Henry Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design a holiday card for his friends.
1849: Esther Howland became the first regular publisher of valentines in the U.S. and sold her first handmade Valentine.
1856: German immigrant Louis Prang opened a small lithographic business near Boston, and America’s greeting card industry began.
1866: By this time, Prang perfected the colour lithographic process. He reproduced famous paintings, surpassing the quality produced by craftsmen in the U.S. and England.
The 1870s (early): Prang published deluxe editions of Christmas cards, sold mainly in England.
1875: Prang introduced the first complete line of Christmas cards in America.
1941: A small group of publishers, under the leadership of George Burkhardt of Burkhardt-Warner, established the Greeting Card Industry, the predecessor of today’s Greeting Card Association.
1943: The association cooperated with the Post Office, later to become the United States Postal Service, on the first “Mail Early” Christmas campaign.
Greeting Cards have witnessed several social and economic changes. During the initial years, the greeting cards would cost a fortune, however, after industries boomed in the 1950s and 1960s, the price dropped. Even today, on average, a person buys around 34 greeting cards throughout the year. This rate is steadily falling as the internet has taken over the print. So, it is important to understand the importance of greeting cards.
A greeting card expresses all the human emotions, joy, thanks, sympathy, humour, love and admiration. It allows us to connect on an emotional level with the people who have touched our lives. Sending personalized greeting cards allows us a vast variety of sentiments that allow us to express our caring to family, friends, customers, clients and employees. Anyone will prefer a personalized greeting card over the generic forwarded text or greeting that is on the web.
In the digital age where people are virtually connected, greeting cards give us a chance to initiate personal communication and bond. The physical presence of a person or the physical touch sometimes does wonders. Imagine a very important client picking up your mail. There’s a bright card envelope among the bills, this instant;y grans the client’s attention. It brings the knowledge that someone cares enough about you and has taken an initiative to wish personally.
Anderson Printing House designs and prints cards on several occasions. Several clients wait for a year-round to get a card from them. This feeling of connectivity is ensured by greeting cards. So, take a break from your digital world and send personalized greeting. For any greeting cards related information Contact us.