Traditional Christmas greetings are worth the effort

Most folks start addressing their Christmas cards around this time of year. If getting through your Christmas card list has become a daunting task for you, it might be helpful to remember how they all began.
When the first Christmas card made it’s appearance in England in 1843, the merciless London press ridiculed it. Sir Henry Cole, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum had commissioned the artist, John Collcott Horsley, to design a greeting card for Christmas. Horsley’s design was a little bigger than a post card.
It featured three drawings, framed by a twining grape vine. The center picture was of a Victorian family raising a toast at dinner. The tablecloth extends down the front of the card printed with the greeting: “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”
The two pictures on either side of this depict acts of charity. On the left someone is feeding the hungry; on the right, clothing the naked. What the press found amusing was that the “naked” were depicted wearing clothes. This was, after all, the beginning of the prudish Victorian era.
But the critics had no patience with an artist who refused to do nudes. So, Horsley got stuck with the ignominious nickname “Clothes Horsley.”
The earliest Christmas card known to history was actually produced in 1466. It was an engraving by an unknown artist who signed the card “Master E.S.” It depicted a figure of Christ stepping out of a flower. But the practice of sending Christmas cards never really caught on until Horsley came around.
Despite its critics, the Horsley card started a phenomenal trend. Billions of Christmas cards have been sent since that first one over 150 years ago. And just like that Horsley card, few of them would ever earn praise from an art critic, but so many, like his, would truly reflect the taste of their times, a plus for any antique.
Old Christmas postcards, at $5 to $15 each are among the best buys on the antiques market. Depictions of Santa or angels are particularly desirable.
These neat old Christmas cards also look nice decorating a buffet table, as party favors for dinner guests, as a charming addition to gift-wrapping, or as bookmarks with the gift of a book.
I sometimes include an old postcard—not only the Christmas kind—inside the Christmas cards I send. You can also stuff them among the branches of your Christmas tree.
It doesn’t affect the value of a postcard if it is written on, as long as it’s in generally good condition. In fact, many collectors prefer the cancelled stamp as a way of authenticating the date of the card.
The writings on most cards are usually just postcard chatter, but sometimes the sentiment and wording can be a fascinating bonus.
When you think about it, there’s something really wonderful about the practice of sending out holiday greeting cards. For the few minutes it takes you to sign and address a card, you are thinking of someone else, who in turn will think a few minutes about you when they receive it.
Multiply that by the billions of cards that will be sent this year—all those people thinking for a few minutes about one another. All that thoughtful energy must be what’s known as the holiday spirit.
—Arthur Schwerdt, a senior certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send comments and/or appraisal questions to aschwerdt@cmcherald.com.