Some Christmas customs never die

More than 150 years ago, we would be sending Christmas postcards as opposed to cards.

When the first postage stamps were introduced in the 1840s, an Englishman, Henry Cole, who was the founder of the Victoria & Albert Museum, was so busy at Christmas that he was forced to enlist the help of two friends to send out his Christmas greetings.

John Calcutt Horsley designed the card for him and another friend, Joseph Cundall, produced 1,000.

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The first card which was produced in 1843 measured about five inches by four and a half, printed by lithography and hand painted.

The scene on the card was a family group, showing grandfather, grandmother, father and mother helping a toddler sip from a claret glass.

Watching this scene was a young man with his girlfriend. Being an astute businessman, Cole decided to sell the unused cards for 1s. each. The Christmas card was born.

The next known card was a hand-coloured etching, produced in 1848 following the design work of W M Egley. Many of these early cards were produced the size of today's business cards '“ in sheets '“ which had to be cut out prior to being delivered either by hand or enclosed with a Christmas letter.

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The cards did not catch on immediately, but a notice "Apologies for not sending a Christmas card", did actually appear in The Times in 1873.

By Christmas, 1880, the GPO had adopted the well-known slogan 'Post early for Christmas', although it was still possible at that time to post late on Christmas Eve for delivery on Christmas morning!

During the 1880s, two brothers worked for the major postcard manufacturer Raphael Tuck, designing the Christmas range.

Many of the cards produced were shaped as an artist's palette or the moon.

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It was not until later, when postal rates were halved, that folded cards were introduced, many with inner ribboned sheets.

The real turning point was in 1880 when a nation-wide competition for designing Christmas cards was launched, with a prize of 500 guineas.

Towards the end of the century, cards became increasingly popular, with one company actually offering an immense prize of 10,000 for the best designs.

During the period between 1880 and 1900, some of the famous artists of the day sold their paintings to the postcard producers for reproduction on their cards.

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Popular Victorian writers also vied with each other to have their words included on the cards.

By 1895, the trade had increased so dramatically that there an estimated 200,000 different Christmas cards were being produced.

The range of cards was diverse with 'mechanical' cards being especially popular.

Some of these had tabs or cords, to reveal a three dimensional pop-up.

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The themes were similar to the present day, although they placed much more emphasis on the use of real photographs than we do today.

Enterprising stationers were also known to overprint cards of street scenes with the annual Compliments of the Season or Christmas Wishes.

To find out more about Bognor's local history click here

During the first world war, military and patriotic scenes were also available for sending, fully emblazoned with the season's greetings.

Embossed cards became popular from 1902, when German companies began flooding the shops with their own designs, including the German Father Christmas, St Nicholas, who was depicted rewarding the good children, while Krampus punished the naughty ones.

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The Raphael Tuck organisation went on to produce a greater variety of Christmas postcards, as did many other manufacturers.

Many cards were printed with bright, bold colours, and some of the early cards' illustrations were highlighted with tinsel. The postal staff did not welcome these and complained of sore hands from handling these cards.

Recently, I was contacted by a gentleman who had a wonderful collection of Christmas cards. These cards covered a period between 1885 and 1893.

The collection was made by a child named '˜Bessie' but sadly no other information is known, only that the album was eventually sold at Ursula Sichel in Bognor Regis during the 1960s.

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The heyday for the Christmas postcard was before the first world war, when between one and three million cards were posted daily.

After the war, the public began to send folded cards, carefully sealed in envelopes, to prevent prying eyes.

But they still had to post early for Christmas!

Don't forget it is not too late to buy your truly Bognor Christmas cards from Unique Promotions in the Arcade in Bognor Regis.

I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous new year. I would also like to thank those who have contacted me during the year with information, photographs and memories which have greatly assisted with the production of these articles.

Thank you for your assistance and see you in 2008.

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