The of Greetings Cards

For most of us, certainly in Europe and under western culture, our occasions, expressions of feelings,

and sentiments to and from others are marked by the sending of an illustrated folded card. For more

important occasions these cards are sent in addition to a present. Sizes, styles and themes vary greatly.

The inner part of the card can contain verses, wishes and expressions, sometimes items or objects

related to the subject of the card, or they can simply be left blank for us to write our own messages. So

how and where and why did this custom and now a 'norm' come from and develop?

happy birthday greeting

The Earliest Cards

As far as historians are aware, like so many other things we in the uk are familiar with, the earliest

versions of greetings cards were developed in ancient China as a way of marking one of the most widely

recognised and important festivals / special occasions which was New Year. Other evidence of greetings

cards in ancient cultures can be traced to papyrus scroll versions produced in Egypt.

Greetings Cards in Europe

The 1400s in Europe marked the end of the 'middle ages' and the 'dark ages' and it was at this time that

what would become 'greetings cards' started to be made. Early versions were obviously hand-made, and

there is evidence of woodcut versions being made in Germany.

The 19th Century and Beyond

The early part of the 1800s was a period just before wide-scale mechanisation and the second

industrialisation. This meant that greetings cards were still hand-made items which were beyond the

means of many people.

For the 1850s onwards the advancing pace of large scale mechanisation, improvements in the postal

service and cheaper postal charges fuelled the growth of affordable greetings cards of all kinds and

some large scale producers started to appear.

Further advances in lithography and mass production saw a huge growth in the greetings card market in

the early part of the 20th century, and some of the first main moves away from more traditional designs

to e. g. towards some humorous cards.

The last half of the 20th century saw the wide-scale introduction of large card retailers into the high

street and the mass popularisation and recognition of greetings card brands e. g. Hallmark. This period

also saw a diverse amount of style and choice in cards e. g. musical, photo, and personalised as well as

standard cards.

Today: Buying Greetings Cards Online

Buying birthday cards and others greetings cards online is now a fast and highly effective way to carry on

the ancient tradition of marking the special days in the lives of those we care about, and exchanging

important sentiments and messages in a special way.