The History of Greetings Cards
Ancient Beginnings The custom of sending greeting cards has been traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of goodwill to celebrate the New Year and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. Handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe during the early 15th century with the Germans printing New Year's greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400 and it is known that paper Valentines were being exchanged here too Industrial Revolution By the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to a popular and affordable means of personal communication, due largely to advances in printing, mechanisation, and a reduction in postal rates with the introduction...