193. The first Christmas letter
Creator: Summerly's Home Treasury Office (Publisher), Sir Henry Cole (Creator)
Original Price: $0.08 *
Current value: $28.000 *
Many of us send Christmas cards during the holiday season, but have you ever wondered where this tradition came from? Sending Christmas cards started in 1843 thanks to a government official in the United Kingdom named Sir Henry Cole. Cole helped found the Post Office, and came up with the idea of sending out Christmas cards to help promote his invention.
Sir Cole commissioned his friend, an artist named John Horsley, to design the first Christmas card. The three-panel card, which depicts scenes of a Christmas dinner and people caring for the poor, was hand-painted and sold for 1 teacup each ($ 0.08). The original Horsley-designed, Cole-commissioned cards were resold at auction for $ 28,000. They are quite rare as it is hard to find paper products that have been around since 1840.