- 285
Christmas Card -- Cole, Henry and John Calcott Horsley
Description
- A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You. London: [Joseph Cundall for] Summerly's Home Treasury Office, [1843]
- paper
Provenance
Literature
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
"While Germany can claim credit for the custom of the Christmas tree, the prize for the first Christmas card goes to England" (Elliott, Inventing Christmas, p.85).
Inspired by the "all-purpose" cards that were widely available (in which the sender could fill in the name of the recipient, the occasion, a greeting and signature), in 1843 Henry Cole commissioned the artist John Calcott Horsely to design an appropriately festive image on a card and inserted a banner with the greeting "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You." Horsley devised a family party of adults lifting a glass of good cheer to the recipient of the card in the centre panel, flanking it with images of Christmas charity (feeding and clothing the poor). There is a line at the top in which to insert the recipient's name and another at the bottom which the sender could sign.
Present here is also a very rare proof impression of the card -- one of only five known to exist according to Rowe's census. Cole kept proofs as souvenirs of his inventiveness; in 1865 he gave several away, including one (believed to be in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection) to his daughter Henrietta. The present proof is inscribed to Mr. and Mrs. George Wallis. George Wallis later became head of the Victoria and Albert Museum, of which Cole was a founder.