From the Archives

According to Smithsonian Magazine — “A prominent educator and patron of the arts, Henry Cole traveled in the elite social circles of early Victorian England, and had the misfortune of having too many friends. During the holiday season of 1843, those friends were causing Cole much anxiety.

The problem were their letters: An old custom in England, the Christmas and New Year’s letter had received a new impetus with the recent expansion of the British postal system and the introduction of the “Penny Post,” allowing the sender to send a letter or card anywhere in the country by affixing a penny stamp to the correspondence.

Now, everybody was sending letters. Sir Cole was an enthusiastic supporter of the new postal system, and he enjoyed being the 1840s equivalent of an A-Lister, but he was a busy man. As he watched the stacks of unanswered correspondence he fretted over what to do. “In Victorian England, it was considered impolite not to answer mail," says Ace Collins, author of Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas. "He had to figure out a way to respond to all of these people."

Cole hit on an ingenious idea. He approached an artist friend, J.C. Horsley, and asked him to design an idea that Cole had sketched out in his mind. Cole then took Horsley’s illustration — a triptych showing a family at table celebrating the holiday flanked by images of people helping the poor — and had a thousand copies made by a London printer.

The image was printed on a piece of stiff cardboard 5 1/8-by-3 1/4 inches in size. At the top of each was the salutation, ‘TO: allowing Cole to personalize his responses, which included the generic greeting ‘A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You.’ It was the first Christmas card.”

Sharing a photo of a Christmas card from the museum’s collection.

Your Boundary County Historical Society and museum, 7229 Main, Bonners Ferry sponsors this column.

The museum will be closed on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. However, you can still visit the museum Thursday, Dec. 23 and Friday, Dec. 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can also visit the website at www.boundarycountymuseum.org or the museum’s Facebook page for historical photos, stories and upcoming events. We can be reached at doyouremember@meadowcrk.com or telephone 208-267-7720. Thank you for your continued support.