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John Callcott Horsley RA (29 January 1817 – 18 October 1903) was a British academic painter of genre and historical scenes, illustrator, and designer of the first Christmas card. He was a member of the artist's colony in Cranbrook.
Dec 17, 2019 · The story of the very first commercial Christmas card, the 1843 creation of British arts patron Henry Cole and illustrator John Calcott Horsley.
- The First Christmas Card
- Sir Henry Cole
- The Penny Post
- Christmas Card Sending in The 21st Century
- Popular Greeting Card Designs
- Fascinating Facts
The card design, in true Victorian style, depicted the two sides of Christmas. A central image which portrayed Henry’s family happiness with a plenitude of food and drink was flanked by two scenes showing the less fortunate poor and needy being helped with gifts of food and clothing. The card was of a similar size to a post card and carried the mes...
In 1838 working with Rowland Hill, Henry Cole pioneered the introduction of a cheap prepaid letter post – the penny post. Taking on the responsibility for the postage cover design brought Henry Cole into contact with artist John Calcott Horsley whose talents he drew upon in 1843 when he personally commissioned the design, which was to become the fi...
Postal services in Britain had developed at pace from the mid 1700’s as roads were build and regular Stagecoach routes connected the country, however the charging scales of post was based on distance, and paid by the recipient; so mail was the preserve of the rich. The introduction of the Penny Post in 1840, with those famous Penny Black stamps, ch...
Card sending in the UK increased dramatically in the early 20th century, with cards playing a particularly important role in communication during the two world wars. The British are estimated to send a billion Christmas cards each year. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 saw UK consumers buying their Christmas cards early, with many, particularly 18-34 ...
While religious themes dominated many Christmas cards in the 20thcentury, secular images have been popular since that first card. Snow continues to be a popular Christmas card image today, this first appeared in 1860, after the coldest winter on record, in a famous image of a Stagecoach battling through blizzards and snowdrops. During the 19th cent...
We spent £1.5 billion on single greeting cards in 2022, according to the Greeting Card Association’s annual report*. [NB: This figure excludes packs and boxes of cards]In 2022 we sent 116 million individual ‘single’ Christmas cards, specially chosen for friends and family* [NB: This figure excludes packs and boxes of Christmas cards]We spent £172m on these individual special Christmas cards*.The average price of these individual Christmas cards in 2022 was £1.48*.John Callcott Horsley (born January 29, 1817, London, England—died October 18, 1903, London) was a British narrative painter best known as the designer of the first Christmas card. Created in 1843 for Callcott’s friend Sir Henry Cole, an edition of 1,000 cards was placed on sale in London.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The first British commercially produced Christmas card. (2003-0476) The initial print run was for 1000 cards. Designed by painter John Callcott Horsley, cards were printed lithographically and then hand-coloured by the professional colourer Mason.
People also ask
How did John Calcott Horsley make xmasse cards?
Why did Henry Cole get a nickname 'Clothes-Horsley'?
Why is Mr Horsley called 'Mr C (lothes) Horsley?
Why did Henry Cole create the penny post & Christmas card?
The Victorian heyday for Christmas cards (1860 – 1890) was prompted by the new printing processes and techniques that combined colour (chromolithography), metallic inks, fabric appliqué and die-cutting to make elaborately shaped cards.