We Have Been Givign Greeting Cards for More Than 100 Years
Greeting Cards have been bringing joy for over 100 years
History of Greeting Cards
- Hallmark Cards, Inc. was started in 1910 in Kansas City, MO by a young man from Nebraska named Joyce Hall. Even to this day it is still run by the grandsons of the Nebraska gentleman.
- American Greetings Corp. has also been in existence for over 100 years started by a young Polish immigrant in Cleveland, OH. Jacob Sapirstein founded the company in 1906.
Penny Postcards
How did these companies become so successful with cards? They started with penny postcards featuring flowery Victorian designs that expressed feelings in rhymes.
People wanted something more private so envelopes were introduced and the printing presses enabled mass production of cards by 1915.
The First Mother’s Day Cards
Mother’s Day cards started being created as early as the 1920’s. The cards were rather formal and showed mothers having tea, sitting with flowers, sewing or in the kitchen.
By the 1930’s color lithography was adopted which catapulted the U.S. greeting card industry into significant growth.
Giving cards became an enjoyable demonstration of caring for mother’s day, birth days, Valentine’s day & Christmas.
World War II Cards
During World War II the greeting card industry provided cards for the soldiers overseas and Hallmark launched a branding campaign with the tag line “When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best”.
Personalized Cards
Giving a carefully chosen card is still a tangible demonstration of our love and caring for our mothers. And nowadays you can easily make your own cards through various companies or just download one of our printables – ready made designs – on our site here.
