Greeting Card History

Ever wonder where greeting cards came from? Yes, the kind you buy from Hallmark and send your dad for Father’s Day. Believe it or not, these nifty pieces of paper have a longer history than you would think. See if you knew these greeting card facts.

Greeting Cards’ Origins:

· In the early 1400’s (before Columbus sailed the ocean blue) paper greeting cards were given to friends and family in Europe.

· In Germany, greeting card makers used wood for these unique creations.

· The first Valentine’s Day card was exchanged in 1415, but didn’t gain notoriety until the Penny Press era (mid 1800’s).

· The first Christmas greeting card given during the holidays was in England in 1843.

Greeting Cards in the US:

· A Boston lithograph owner named Lois Prang is given credit for inventing the first American greeting card.

· After WWI, the printing industry took off and greeting cards improved in style and quality.

· Greeting cards were given to soldiers overseas fighting during WWII. Talk about patriotic!

· In the 1980’s, cards were printed for many holidays and expressions. Forget finding only major holiday cards in stores. Greeting cards such as “Thank You” and “Saying Hello” flourished.

· Nearly 8 billion greeting cards are sold each year, hiking in revenue for greeting card companies.

Like most industries, even greeting cards have transitioned into Net sales. 6Star Reviews reported that American Greeting is a service providing some of the best greeting cards online. Customers are given fun perks like adding digital photos, text and sound to their online greeting cards. Sure beats carving wood engravings into homemade greeting cards!