The First Christmas Card, Champagne Ice and Mincemeat Pie
For the 19th Day of Advent
The Christmas card was born when someone was behind schedule answering correspondence.
That someone was Henry Cole, who went on to become the founding director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This from the V&A.
Christmas was a busy time in the Cole household and with unanswered mail piling up, a timesaving solution was needed. Henry turned to his friend, artist John Callcott Horsley to illustrate his idea.
The time saving solution was 1,000 printed cards of greeting that Mr. Cole could sign with a short personal note.
Cole may have been ahead of his time but the commercialisation of Christmas was on its way, prompted by developments in the publishing industry. More affordable Christmas gift-books and keepsakes were aimed at the growing middle classes, and authors responded to the trend: Charles Dickens wrote Christmas themed stories for Household Words and All the Year Round and published A Christmas Carol in 1843. By the 1870s the Christmas trend was firmly established
You can read more about how the first Christmas card came to be here at: V&A.
Enter Hallmark
J.C. Hall, and his brother, Rollie, sold postcards between 1910-15 under the name “Hall Brothers” — the name was officially changed to “Hallmark” in the 1950’s.
As postcard sales declined, they recognized the public’s desire for more privacy in their communication, so they started offering high-quality valentines and Christmas cards mailed in envelopes. — History of Hallmark
The brand continued to grow and in 1951, NBC approached J.C. Hall with a request— would Hallmark sponsor an original opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, on Christmas Eve?
Hall agreed and it was the first in a continuing series of shows: The Hallmark Hall of Fame. The opera by Gian Carlo Menotti was broadcast live on NBC from the famous Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center.
Here’s a link if you’d like to learn more: History of Hallmark
The Gallery Artist Collection
I found this Hallmark ad recently from 1948: Hallmark Gallery Artists Christmas Cards. It includes cards by Picasso, Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, Georgia O’Keeffe and (I thought) surprisingly, Salvador Dalí.
One of Dalí’s cards is a rendering of Santa, complete with Dalí’s signature melting clock, the fluidity of time.
If you’d like to learn more about the hallmark art collection here is the link: https://www.hallmarkartcollection.com
Dalí created a gorgeous, trippy cookbook in 1973 that I wrote about a while ago. I made one of the recipes that would actually be nice during the Holidays. The recipe for Champagne Ice can be found in the post:
More Art and Recipes
At her lovely newsletter
, illustrator and fine artist turns “food into still life first, and dinner second.”
In her latest newsletter, Vicki made mincemeat pies and also featured the card she’s created for the holidays. I’ve linked below if you’d like to see the recipe and Vicki’s charming card.
The 19th Day of “The Little Town” Advent Calendar
Time is definitely the theme today. 🕰️
See you tomorrow! 🎄 Jolene
I WOULD LOVE A SALVADOR DALI Christmas card - or BARRING THAT one INSPIRED by Dali.
H. R. Giger ?
When I was a teen my mom made a champagne sorbet using pink (Andre) sparkling wine, cream, and sliced strawberries. It was amazing!