The first commercially produced Christmas card was designed in London by John Callcott Horsley for the inventor and patron of the arts Henry Cole in 1843. The cards were sold at 1 shilling (about £3.75) each. The idea soon took off, and spread to America, where the first Christmas cards were produced in 1874. Henry Cole, who had been central to the establishment of the Penny Post in the previous decade, allegedly came up with the idea when, having left it too late to send his usual Christmas greeting to his friends, he decided to send a printed one instead.
Doing History in Public 