Christmas card circa 1930-1939 with gold embossing and a picture of a black cat.
Source: Museum Victoria
Historic Christmas cards from the museum’s collection feature in a seasonal display in the Melbourne Museum foyer. The cards on display range from the 1890s to the 1960s and illustrate the tastes and styles of their era.
Many Victorian cards featured highly decorative floral designs, whereas Art Deco and wartime cards were often stylised and austere. In the 20th century, images of Santa Claus, snow and sleighs became more common. The Australian identity also appeared in pictures of native flora and fauna, evident from the boronia and koala cards on display.
Invention of the chromolithography printing technique made Christmas card production cheap and easy and by 1870, sending Christmas cards was a popular custom. This year, around 70 million Christmas cards will be delivered by Australia Post as Australians send friends and family greetings of the season.
The first commercial Christmas card was commissioned in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, who later became the founding director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. His card, illustrated by J.C. Worslsey, depicted acts of charity and a family celebrating together. Only 1,000 were printed and very few examples survive – one sold for £22,250 at auction in 2001.
Melbourne Museum's Christmas card display will be up until January.
References:
Christmas Cards by Michelle Higgs, Shire Publications Ltd, 1999