I began the custom of sending Christmas cards when i just couldn't face writing out long letters which was the custom of the time so i asked my designer buddy, John Callcott Horsley, to create a card with 'To' at the top, a nice picture with the usual season's greetings and 'From' at the bottom and i sent one to my grandmother and aunt.
That i had helped set-up the new 'Public Record Office', or Post Office, and was promoting the penny post service to get more people to use it had nothing to do with it, it was a an act of charity, for 1 shilling per card which me and Horlsey split.
The first cards had general festive merryment pictures, religious pictures were a no-no back then but they evolved to include Santa's, snow scenes and all things Christmassy and cards had the bonus of being just large enough to stick money in the envelope which was a great way to let someone know that due to your jam-packed social calendar and the festive binge-drinking, you couldn't be arsed to bother buying them a present and care about them as much as the sandwich you grabbed while waiting in line to pay for the card in the supermarket.
I can then lay claim to two Christmas firsts, the card so you don't have to write to people and the laziest, easiest, least personal gift you can give someone which is also the one they look forward to getting the most because that removes all doubt about whether or not they'll get the right thing, cash always fits nicely.
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