HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-12-02, Page 25THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1987. PAGE 25.
^Nortfi Huron Gift Guide
When Sir Henry Cole, founder of
Britain’s Victoria and Albert Mu
seum, commissioned the first
Christmas card back in 1843 he had
little reason to believe he was
starting a tradition that would
continue to grow nearly a century
and a half later.
The first Christmas card was
simple, a hand-colored litho
graphy that read “A merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year
to You ”, cost one shilling and was a
commercial failure.
Fortunately, the idea didn’t die,
and today the tradition of exchang
ing Christmas cards has spawned a
multimillion dollar industry in
Canada alone. According to indu
stry leaderCarltonCards, more
than 600 million cards were sent or
given in Canada last year.
Both the cards themselves and
the sentiments expressed have
gone through a series of changes
over the years.
“Many early Christmas cards
were nothing more elaborate than
writing paper decorated with
Christmas symbols, ” says Bar
bara Huard, Senior Product Man
ager at Carlton Cards, “and later
cards were sold in sheets of 12 that
had to be cut out and hand finished
by the sender.’’
But it was the fashion of
mounting Christmas cards in
albums that changed the design of
the cards in the 1860’s. The picture
became all-important and the
verses and greetings transferred to
the back. The result was a folded
card, a look that became standard
for cards around the world.
“It wasn’t until the British
established a halfpenny postage
rate for cards sent in unsealed
envelopes in 1870 that Christmas
cards really caught on,” explains
Ms. Huard. “But once they did,
the custom grew so quickly that
within lOyearsthe British Post
master General had to issue “Post
Early For Christmas” warnings.
No one appreciates the “early
nature’’ of the Christmas card
giving business more than the
people at Carlton. While consum
ers may just now be thinking about
holiday festivities, the production
facilities at Carlton’s three Ontario
plants were humming with Christ-
Continued on page 26
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