This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
The First Christmas Cards Through the Ages
The earliest known holiday greeting dates to 1450 in the Rhine Valley with a woodcut of the Christ Child and Holy Mother. Sir Henry Cole published the first mass produced card, facing criticism for depicting children with wine. Louis Prang in Boston popularized colorful chromolithograph cards in the 1870s, earning him the title father of the American Christmas card. The first American card appeared in 1853 designed by Pease of Albany, now in Rust Craft collection.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rhine Valley
Germany
Alexandria
Sir Henry Coe
Fingishman
Joan Horsley
Sd Carr
Cole
Chilcken
United States
Louis Prang
Boston
Prang
America
Pease
Albany, N
Rust Craft