A CRACKER OF AN EVENING!

Facilitated by Court Assistant Carol Tullo, it brought together three masters of their subjects and highlighted the key role played by the Victorians and greeting cards in particular in the invention and promotion of Christmas as we have come to know it.

While some festive customs have ancient origins, many of the traditions we associate with Christmas today were created by the Victorians, including the Christmas tree (in 1848), Christmas cracker (in 1878) and Christmas card.  The first Christmas card was commissioned in 1843 by the civil servant and entrepreneur Sir Henry Cole, finding he was too busy to send his customary Christmas letters to his friends and acquaintances.  Five years before, working with Rowland Hill, he had pioneered the introduction of the prepaid letter post (Penny Post).

Dr Ruth Frendo, the Stationers’ Company archivist, set the scene with a fascinating reminder of how many of the earliest Christmas designs and images which had been previously entered in the Register of Proprietors of Copyright in Paintings, Drawings and Photographs, maintained at Stationers’ Hall, were transferred to the National Archives in 1912. She spoke about the development of copyright, the 1842 Copyright Act, the 1862 Fine Arts Copyright Act and how ownership eventually passed to the author.

Dr Katherine Howells, Visual Collections Researcher at the National Archives, took attendees on a visual journey through the years from 1842 to 1912, using some of the many wonderful images that were once held at Stationers’ Hall.

She showed how the visual culture of Christmas had developed, and the themes which underpinned it during this time such as nostalgia and the past, children and religion before expanding to where it is today.

She also enlightened us to the fact that early crackers were promoted as incorporating ‘trifles productive of mirth’, and how Charles Dickens, a stationer and author of A Christmas Carol, captured the essence of Christmas by telling readers to ‘…reflect upon your present blessings…..not on your past misfortunes’.

Amanda Fergusson, CEO of the Greeting Card Association which was established in 1919, then spoke about how greeting cards play such an important part in people’s lives, not just at Christmas, and are part of our DNA.

The UK sends more greeting cards per person each year than any other nation, and spends £162m on individual cards at Christmas alone (excluding box sets and multiple packs, homemade/crafted cards…and postage).  The first folded Christmas card made its debut in 1899.

Surprisingly for many perhaps, card sending by the 18-24 age group and generation is actually on the increase, and many more charity linked Christmas cards are today being sent.  Card makers really are pushing the boundaries (and often literally the envelope!), creatively and design wise to reflect the style and sentiments of the day.

Christopher Leonard-Morgan